My Happy Ending
by Made of Ossum
Summary: Cindy and Jimmy have been happily married for two years. But when a rumor is started that he's been cheating on her, it's up to their younger selves to put their marriage back together again. COMPLETE, former penname was JCFOREVER.
1. Questions

_Yes, it's a new fanfic. And yes, I haven't finished my others. But I just couldn't resist… I hope you like it! I'm calling the older Cindy and Jimmy by their real names, Cynthia and James, so as not to confuse anyone. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Questions**

"Let's welcome our guest to the show, Dr. James Neutron!" the DJ's voice streamed in through the stereo system.

20-year-old Cynthia Aurora slammed her first down on the dashboard.

"Whoa, calm down girl," her best friend, Libby, tried to soothe her. Cynthia reached out a hand to turn off the radio, but Libby grabbed her wrist. "I wanna hear what he has to say," she protested.

Cindy didn't reply, but she didn't argue back, either, so the radio stayed on.

"I know we're here to listen to you about your holographic TV," said the disc jockey, "but first let's talk about the situation with your wife."

"There's nothing to talk about," James said. "I haven't seen her in two months now, and I'm tired of telling the story over and over again."

"So she still thinks you cheated on her?"

"Yes, she does, but it isn't—and I repeat, _isn't_—true," James said firmly.

"Liar!" Cynthia exclaimed. Fury filled every part of her innermost being. How could he keep saying this to everyone? Didn't he feel even the slightest pang of guilt for his actions?

* * *

"Oh, come on, Nerdtron. Everyone fawns over me already. Why would it be any different in the future?" 11-year-olds Cindy and Jimmy had gotten into yet another argument, this time about who would be more famous at the age of 20. It was a silly fight, really, and Cindy was arguing mostly just for the sake of arguing. But she wanted to be right nonetheless.

"Cindy, Cindy, Cindy." Jimmy shook his head with a smile. "Not everyone fawns over you. Do you see me fawning over you? No. I rest my case."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Of course I wasn't including you in everyone. You're nobody, so you don't count."

Jimmy frowned, and then continued smugly, "So how do you plan on making your big career? Singing, acting? We already know you're no good at either."

"I am too!" Cindy protested. "I have a beautiful voice. And my acting skills are wonderful. I could do either and be a big success. I could do _anything_ and be a big success, Neutron; plain and simple. You on the other hand, have no creativity. You don't even have the looks to go along with anything."

"Well, I think we should settle this right now and get your head out of the clouds," Jimmy snapped.

"Oh, yeah? And how do you suppose we do that?" Cindy asked incredulously.

"_Hello_, haven't you heard of the ChronoArch?" Jimmy retorted.

"The what-o arch?"

"The _Chrono_Arch," Jimmy repeated. "You know, just another one of my ingenious inventions. One of the ones you could never come up with in a million years."

Cindy laughed. "You mean one of the ingenious inventions that almost destroyed our entire town? It's not that I can't invent one; I just don't want to endanger everyone in Retroville."

"So, are you ready to find out or what?" Jimmy asked in annoyance.

"Oh, what the heck? It wouldn't hurt to damage that big ego of yours for once," Cindy agreed.

Not too long after, they were standing in Jimmy's lab as he started up the ChronoArch. Cindy began having second thoughts. "Neutron, isn't this the invention that helped wreck Libby's birthday party?" she asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry, nothing can go wrong this time," Jimmy said, not too reassuringly. "I've tested it not that long ago. It works perfectly, trust me."

"None of your inventions work perfectly, Albert Idiotstein," Cindy retorted. "And I wouldn't trust you if my life depended upon it. So forget about it."

"Cindy, if you don't come with me, I'll tell everyone that you were afraid of me being better than you. How will that look?"

"Are you trying to blackmail me into this?" Cindy demanded. "Fine, I'll go. But if anything goes wrong, you're dead. Understand?"

"Sure. So, go ahead." Jimmy motioned towards the portal. "Ladies first."

"I'm not going first!" Cindy protested. "You lead the way."

Eventually, Jimmy shoved her through, and then followed behind. The two landed in a futuristic version of Retroville, although seemingly not quite as advanced as the last time Jimmy had visited his future self.

"So, let's find me," Jimmy declared after a few moments of looking around.

"You? Why do we have to find _you_ first?" Cindy demanded. "I'm the main focus here."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I'm the one with the invention, and I call the shots. We're finding me first or we're going back."

"You selfish brat!" Cindy cried indignantly. "How do we even know where you live? You could be out of Texas for all we know!"

"Um, well…we'll ask her!" Jimmy suddenly burst out, pointing at a red headed passersby.

"Like she would know," Cindy laughed.

"Excuse me, Miss," Jimmy called after the girl.

She spun around to face them, and then gasped. "You look like James Neutron! Only a younger version! That is so cool! Are you related, or are you just a fan? I love that guy so much, it's unbelievable. My name's Tracie, and I run his fan club, you know," she added proudly.

Jimmy and Cindy both stared at her in shock. "Uh, well, do you know where he lives, then?" Jimmy asked.

"Of course! Follow me!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Jimmy and Cindy both glanced at each other dubiously, but trailed along behind the obsessive fangirl anyway. "Boy, is she messed up or what?" Cindy whispered.

"No, she's just proof of how famous I am," Jimmy replied with a smirk. "Do you really need anything else?"

"Oh, shut up," Cindy snapped. "We still haven't seen me yet."

"So, what are your opinions on the situation?" Tracie asked the two, interrupting their arguing for a moment.

"What situation?" Jimmy asked blankly. He had absolutely no clue what she was talking about.

"You know, the Betty Quinlan situation!" Tracie answered. "It's only been all over the media. Do you think he's cheating on her or not?"

"Um, no?" Jimmy said, biting his lip. He could only hope that was the correct answer.

"Good, neither do I!" Tracie voiced her agreement. Jimmy let out a breath of relief. "His wife is so gorgeous! There's no way he could be cheating on her!" Tracie stopped in front of a huge mansion. "Here it is, the Neutron estate," she said, waving towards the house. "If you look through that window, you can spy on him." She pointed to a window on the side of the mansion. "Have a good day." She waved, and then was off.

"What do we do now?" Cindy asked, staring up at the huge estate.

"Ring the doorbell," Jimmy replied, doing just that. There was no answer.

Cindy rolled her eyes, then pounded hard on the door. "You'd better open up!" she yelled. Slowly, the door in front of her began to open, revealing a tall and handsome James Isaac Neutron. Cindy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, as did James'.

"How did you get here?" he asked, breaking the shocked silence that had fallen.

"_His_ dumb invention," Cindy replied, pointing an accusing finger at Jimmy. Without warning, James suddenly picked Cindy up and hugged her. Now it was Jimmy's turn to gape.

"What are you trying to do, squeeze the life out of me?" Cindy exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." James set her down gently, but continued to stare at her. "I just haven't seen you in two months," he explained.

"Wow, Jimmy, it looks like you just get stupider as you get older," was Cindy's smart remark. Jimmy shot her a glare.

"Why don't you two step inside?" James suggested, stepping back so that they could enter the house. Cindy and Jimmy complied, finding that the inside was even more amazing than the outside.

"We have a lot of questions for you," Jimmy informed his older self.


	2. Cheater!

_Another chapter! I'm doing better; aren't you proud of me? Oh, and in case no one figured it out yet, the title for my story is based off of Avril Lavigne's song. I think the chorus is perfect for the way that Cynthia is feeling._

* * *

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Jimmy. I think I'll go home and cry my heart out now.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Cheater!  
**

"So, can you tell us what's going on now?" Jimmy asked. "The girl we met said something about you cheating on your wife. Is that true?"

"Look, it's a really long story," James sighed. He turned to Cindy. "Cindy, why don't you go and watch TV or something?" he suggested. He didn't really want to bring her into this right now. She would probably just take the side of her older self. After all, she _had_ always been pretty stubborn.

"Sounds good to me," she replied contently, to his surprise. He pointed her in the direction of the living room, and she was off.

The sofa was extremely comfortable, and there was a remote control sitting on the coffee table. It took her a few seconds to realize all her favorite shows had probably been canceled by now, but she decided to flip through the channels anyway to see what was on. As soon as she turned on the TV, a holographic image filled the room, making her feel like she was actually there with the actors. It was amazing.

_James must've invented this_, Cindy mused. She'd never seen anything like it before. And, thinking of James, she had to admit to herself that he was pretty gosh darn good looking. Whoever he was married to had to be pretty happy. Not that she would want to be married to him in a million years! No, she had to keep her dignity. Cute or not, he was still Jimmy Neutron.

Suddenly Cindy noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A picture frame was sitting on the coffee table, where the remote had been lying. She hadn't paid attention to it before, but now she picked it up with interest. The image to be seen was shocking, horrifying, and (although she would never admit it) somewhat pleasing at the same time.

_No!_ her mind screamed._ There's no way! No possible, stinking way!_

* * *

In the meantime, Jimmy was following his older self into the mansion's kitchen. It was very big, which certainly matched the rest of the place, with an island in the middle and hunter green marble counter tops. 

"Do you have any Purple Flurp?" Jimmy wondered aloud. Instantly a can of soda appeared on the counter in front of him. He gasped in surprise. "A smart kitchen! I've always wanted to try building one, but mom never lets me experiment with the rest of the house!"

James chuckled to himself. "That's one good thing about having your own place. But I can tell you all the things I've done with the house later. You wanted to know about the situation, right?" he asked, getting to the point. Jimmy nodded. "Well," he began. "Cynthia and I have been married for two years, and nothing has ever gone wrong until now. Betty—"

Jimmy's eyes widened, and he started choking on his Purple Flurp. "Stop—right—there!" he burst out. "Did you say, '_Cindy_ and I'?!"

"I thought you knew," James said with a confused frown. "Didn't you hear about it when you were hearing about the rumor?"

"Look, the girl said 'his wife,' not 'Cynthia Aurora _Neutron_!' Pukin' Pluto, are you kidding me?! This can't happen! I have a reputation to protect! I have my pride! I can't be married to that good-for-nothing, annoying jerk!"

"Hey, watch your mouth," James scolded. "Don't tell me you don't like her. You're what, eleven, right?" Jimmy nodded. "Then I know how you feel about her. I'm _you_. Or did you forget that?"

"I don't like Cindy," Jimmy said stubbornly through clenched teeth.

"Well, fine, don't admit to it," James replied. "But I know that, deep down inside, you must really be enjoying what I'm saying."

Jimmy glared at him, even though what James said was true. "Look, I've already gone through this before on Libby's birthday. Didn't I fix it, or did you lose your mind again?"

"I haven't lost my mind," James chuckled. "What you did was stop Libby from being an evil dictator, which in turn caused me to keep my intelligence, and kept Cynthia's mother from moving in with us. It also helped me get this mansion. But it in no way changed how I felt about Cynthia, or how I feel about her right now."

"There's got to be some way I can go back in time and stop this from happening!" Jimmy exclaimed in frustration.

"If you do, it will only make you miserable for the rest of your life," James said quietly. "Look, maybe you haven't seen Cynthia recently. Take a look at this." He pressed a button on his watch, and a hologram of the 20-year-old Cindy appeared.

Jimmy's mouth dropped open. That wasn't Cindy, that was a—a _supermodel_! "You must be kidding me."

James smiled. "Isn't she beautiful?" he agreed. "Now, do you want me to go on with my story about what happened?"

"Sure, go ahead," Jimmy said, still a little dazed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be married to her after all, considering she looked like _that_.

"OK, like I was saying," James continued, "Cynthia and I have been married for two years, when suddenly Betty Quinlan decides that she's jealous of all the media attention we're getting. So, she spreads this rumor that she and I have been having an affair for quite some time behind Cynthia's back."

"And it's not true, right?" Jimmy asked hopefully, silently praying that he hadn't turned into that much of a jerk. How could he live with himself if it was true?

"No, it's not true," James confirmed. Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. "I tried to tell Cynthia that, but she flew off the handle anyway and wouldn't listen to a word I said. She moved out around two months ago and is staying with Libby in her apartment. She doesn't understand how she's tearing me apart emotionally. I mean, I love her so much, and she's just killing me. I really don't know why she'd believe Betty over me. It doesn't make any sense at all." James heaved a sigh and held his head in his hands.

"So why did you choose Cindy if you could've had Betty?" Jimmy wanted to know, figuring that she was probably even more pretty than the older Cindy was.

"_Why? Why _did I choose Cynthia?" James repeated angrily. "You and I both know that Betty Quinlan was never the one for me! Sure, I fawned over her a little when I was around your age, but I've always loved Cynthia!"

"Gosh, calm down," Jimmy said, taken aback. He didn't think he would ever hear that coming out of his own mouth. Betty was gorgeous!

"Besides, Betty's had so much plastic surgery that it's not even funny," James frowned, "completely ruining any good looks that she once had. Do you think I'd want to spend the rest of my life with someone so"—he searched for the right word—"_fake_?"

Before Jimmy had time to think about this, Cindy came storming into the room. "How _could_ you?" she demanded, eyes filled with tears. "You—you—_cheater_!"

James eyes widened. "Oh, no, not you too!" he exclaimed in despair. This couldn't be happening! He just lost any chance of getting Cynthia back, that was for certain.

"I can't believe this. Forget you. Forget _both_ of you." Cindy spun on her heel and marched off.

"Well, aren't you going to _do_ something!" Jimmy exclaimed. If James loved Cynthia that much, surely he wouldn't just sit back and relax.

"There's nothing we can do," James told him hopelessly. "I've already tried."

"So you're just going to sit back and watch her go?" Jimmy asked in disbelief. "Don't you even care?"

"Look, I care more than you know. But it's no use. Cynthia didn't believe me; Cindy won't either," James replied. "What's done is done."

"Well, if you won't go after her, I will," Jimmy declared indignantly. "Do you know where she went?"

James sighed. "Libby's house," he answered. "I'll take you."


	3. Meet Cynthia Neutron

_Wow, another chapter! Aren't you all surprised? This one is pretty long, too, because I've been working on it on and off for a few days. Hope you like it!_

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Jimmy Neutron, and I really don't want to be reminded!

**

* * *

**

Chapter 3: Meet Cynthia Neutron

Jimmy knocked on the apartment door and prayed that Cindy would be there. It seemed likely that she had gone to find her older self, but what if she was somewhere else completely?

Suddenly the door swung open to reveal Cynthia Neutron. She didn't seem to surprised to see him, which was unusual. Her blonde hair wasn't in a ponytail like he was accustomed to seeing it, but rather she had just let it down, and it was long and flowing. Her eyes were just like the Cindy's he knew, only they seemed different in some way. Maybe it was how she was looking at him kindly, instead of glaring at him like Cindy always did. She was also much taller than he was, and he found himself looking up at her.

_Man, she's even more gorgeous in person_, Jimmy thought. Immediately he felt like smacking himself upside the head. This was Cindy he was thinking about! An older, more attractive version, yes; but still Cindy.

"Hi, Jimmy," Cynthia said sweetly. She beckoned for him to come inside, and he followed, gazing up at her adoringly.

"You're letting _him_ into your home?" Cindy demanded once she saw him, breaking Jimmy out of his lovestruck daze. "But he cheated on you!"

Cynthia chuckled. "No, he's uncontaminated. It's the older him that I can't stand." Jimmy shot a triumphant look at Cindy, and she shot him a sarcastic one in return. Cynthia didn't seem to notice, for suddenly her mood changed, and her face seemed to go pale. It was as if even the very mention of James drained the life out of her. Jimmy looked on sympathetically, wishing that both girls would just believe the truth and be done with it. The situation did seem pretty hopeless, however.

"How the heck did you find me?" Cindy wanted to know, arms crossed. She was sitting next to Libby on a sofa in their living room. Libby looked similar to how he had seen her last time with Carl and Sheen, but she had lost the "evil" look. Jimmy knew that Sheen would still be captivated if he saw her.

"James figured that you'd go where Cynthia had gone—Libby's house," Jimmy explained. "And it looks like he was right."

"So, tell us what you two're doin' here," Libby said.

"Well, I found out about what a _jerk_ Neutron is in the future,"—here Cindy shot Jimmy an evil glare—"so I came here to console the older version of me," she finished, feeling very proud of her nobleness.

"Which Neutron?" Cynthia asked, wanting to smile. "I'm married to him, you know."

"Oh, yuck! I have to have _that_ last name? I didn't even think about that!" Cindy groaned. She didn't think she could ever get used to this.

"Looks like I can start calling _you_ Nerdtron now, Cindy," Jimmy smirked. "Or Dorktron. Or whatever other little parodies you have off of my name."

"Rub it in, why don't ya?" Cindy snapped.

"It's so cute to see you both fighting," Cynthia sighed. "If only things hadn't ended so horribly for the both of us." She held on to her stomach and a tear slid down her cheek. "To think, I'm going to have to raise them alone…" Cynthia's hands flew to her face and she began sobbing. Libby led her to the couch to sit down, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly.

Jimmy and Cindy stopped dead in their tracks, and they turned to look at Cynthia. "_Please_ don't tell me you mean what I think you mean!" Cindy burst out, for the first time noticing Cynthia's protruding stomach.

"You're _pregnant_?!" Jimmy hyperventilated. "This can't be happening to me! I don't want to be a dad! I don't know anything about being a dad!"

"You think _you've_ got it bad?" Cindy snapped at him. "You're not the one who has to go through the pain of child labor! Your job is easy compared to mine!"

"If you two don't _be quiet_, you're goin' to upset Cynthia even more!" Libby exclaimed. Jimmy and Cindy glanced at each other sheepishly. "Yes, she's pregnant, but that is _OK_. Isn't that right, Cynthia?" She turned to her best friend for support.

"Yes," Cynthia gasped. "It's going to be OK. I have to keep telling myself that. I just—I'll die if one of them looks like him!"

"_One_ of them?" Jimmy repeated incredulously.

"You're having _twins_?" Cindy squealed. "Now I'll have to go through twice as much pain! Gosh, can this day _get_ any worse?"

"I told you two to be quiet," Libby scolded.

"It's alright, Libby," Cynthia assured her. "I don't really care."

"So when are you, uh, expecting them?" Jimmy asked uneasily, feeling kind of embarrassed for wanting to know.

"Five months from now," Cynthia answered. "Probably sometime around your birthday."

Cindy cleared her throat. "Well," she began, changing the subject, "do you mind telling me about the whole...situation? I heard something about it on TV, but not the entire thing. And not from your point of view, either."

"I guess I could..." Cynthia replied. "But forgive me if I start crying during some parts. Sometimes my emotion just gets the better of me... I still love him, you know."

"But how can you?" Cindy questioned. "After he hurt you so badly?"

"If he just said he was sorry, I would take him back," Cynthia told her with a sigh. "But he won't even admit to what he did." Cindy nodded sympathetically.

Jimmy rolled his eyes at their ignorance. James wouldn't admit to it because he didn't _do_ it! From what Jimmy caught on, he'd never even _think_ of doing something like that! If the two loved each other so much, what was the problem here?

"Anyway, a few months ago, I noticed that James started coming home later from his teaching job at the university. I didn't think about it so much then, but it just makes more sense now that I know everything else. So then, not too long after, Betty admitted the whole thing to everyone. She said they'd been seeing each other, and that James even mentioned possibly divorcing me so that...they could...get married." At this, Cynthia burst into tears once more. "I just don't know what happened to him. He seemed like he loved me so much, and we were always happy together, but...I just don't know now."

"Don't worry, we'll be OK," Cindy said reassuringly.

Jimmy couldn't take this garbage anymore. "Why the heck do you believe Betty if James is the one that loves you?" he exclaimed.

"Just shut up, Jimmy!" Cindy yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger at his chest and getting up in his face. "This is all _your_ fault!"

"_My_ fault?" Jimmy repeated angrily. "Betty's the one that's destroyed our lives, and _you're_ the one who believes her!"

"Please, both of you, stop it!" Cynthia cried. "I can't take it anymore!"

Jimmy and Cindy were immediately silenced.

"I'm sorry, Cynthia," Jimmy apologized remorsefully. "I didn't mean to make you more upset."

"Oh, so you're going to apologize to her but not to me?" Cindy demanded.

"Um, Cindy, let me remind you that..._you're the same person_!" Jimmy retorted.

Cynthia began to giggle, and then to laugh. "Are you jealous of yourself, Cindy?"

Cindy stuck out her bottom lip. "I'm not jealous of anyone," she declared, although she _was_ jealous of the fact that Jimmy seemed to care more about her older self than her. He was acting like Cynthia was more important to him than she was. It didn't make any sense, because (like he said) they _were_ the same person, after all.

"Well, I think it's time to be getting back to our time period," Jimmy decided suddenly. He was beginning to think that the future was too much to handle at this point. It would be much easier to just travel back in time two years and make sure that he and Cindy were never married in the first place. Then they could go home and forget this whole thing ever happened.

"What?" Cindy gaped. "You're just going to let our lives be ruined and not care? I don't think so! We're staying until this is all worked out! Got it?"

"Fine, if that's what you want," Jimmy gave in. He knew that if Cindy had her mind set on something, there was practically nothing he could do to change it. Plus, he felt too tired to argue with her at this point. Then he recalled what James had told him about his life being miserable if he tried to change the outcome of his feelings for Cindy...


	4. Cindy Takes the Lead

_It looks like I was able to get another chapter done over my break. I hope that makes you guys happy! XxDoCxX, I've really been appreciating your reviews. Lots of people tell me that they like the story, but they don't tell me what I could change. Thanks for your critiquing, and please keep it up!_

**_

* * *

_**

**Disclaimer:** I know, I know...I don't own Jimmy Neutron...

* * *

**Chapter 4: Cindy Takes the Lead**

"Look, I'm an adult, and I really can handle things on my own," Cynthia spoke up. "You both should probably just go on home and forget this ever happened. I am completely capable of straightening this situation out by myself."

"There's your answer. Let's go," Jimmy urged Cindy.

"No," Cindy said firmly. This was great, just great. He could tell that she really had her mind set on this, which was something he'd feared. Who knew how long they'd be stuck in the future now, with Cindy wanting to repair the broken relationship? "I already said we're staying here until I work this out, and that's what I plan on doing. Seeing how you could be so uncaring, Jimmy, you can just relax and let me handle all the tough work. I don't mind. It's not like you've ever been a genius socially, anyway."

The last statement caught Jimmy off guard. Oh, he could see where she was getting at now. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist a challenge like that. No, now he _had_ to prove her wrong; otherwise he wouldn't be able to live it down. "I don't think so, Vortex," Jimmy replied. "You could never accomplish this without me, and you know that." He glanced at his nails. "You wouldn't even _be_ here if it wasn't for me, remember?"

Cindy rolled her eyes and smiled. She'd been expecting that kind of prideful remark from the stuck up boy genius. Oh, well…as long as she got what she wanted, that was what counted. "So, I think I'm ready to go talk some sense into James now," Cindy decided. "You coming?"

Jimmy glanced at Cynthia, and then back at Cindy. "Uh, I don't know…," he said uneasily, unable to make up his mind. He wanted to be there when James explained everything to Cindy, but he also couldn't help being attracted to his future wife. She was a whole lot nicer to him than the 11-year-old Cindy was.

Cindy immediately sensed what was going on, and became aggravated. "Oh, please, don't tell me you're in love with the older version of me. That is _so_ pathetic." She rolled her eyes to complement the statement. This seemed to do the trick.

"You're the pathetic one, Vortex. Like I'd really ever be in love with _you_, older or not," Jimmy shot back. "I'd much rather spend time with my brilliant self. Let's go." At this remark, Cynthia shot him a mock look of hurt feelings. Jimmy, not realizing she was faking, added, "No offense, Cynthia. I really do like you."

Cindy rolled her eyes once more, while Cynthia and Libby laughed. "Oh, it's OK, Jimmy. I understand," Cynthia replied sweetly.

"Somebody please gag me!" Cindy cut in dramatically. "A 20-year-old flirting with an 11-year-old…talk about sickening!"

"What? I'm not flirting!" This time is was Cynthia's turn to roll her eyes. "Look, Cindy, we all know you like him, but you're just taking it too far now."

"I do_ not_ like Jimmy Neutron!" Cindy exclaimed, infuriated.

"Whatever, girl," Libby commented. "Tell me again why you're married to him?"

Cindy's face turned bright red. "Ask her, not me!" she retorted, motioning to Cynthia. "She's the one that married that—that—cheater!"

Cynthia went pale, and she was stunned to silence. Libby looked at Cindy scornfully. "If you knew how much she was in love with him, you _never_ would o' said that," Libby scolded.

"If she really is in love with him that much, then why won't she believe him?" Jimmy retorted. Instantly guilt swept over him again. When would he learn to think before he spoke?

"Seeing that you two can't keep your mouths shut, why don't you just go talk to James and leave Cynthia alone for right now?" Libby told them. It sounded like more of a command than a suggestion.

"No, I'll tell him," Cynthia cut in. She turned to look at Jimmy. "You see, deep down inside, I'd always been afraid that James never really loved me. After a while, I got over that...but I was still afraid that if Betty tried anything, he wouldn't be able to resist her. I mean, we'd always had a rocky relationship, and look at the way you fawn over Betty now. Why should it be different with James?"

"Perhaps because James is a mature adult," Jimmy replied sensibly. "He made a lifetime commitment to you, Cynthia, and he plans on keeping it."

"If that were true," Cynthia began, "then can you tell me why he hasn't even tried to come after me, like you did with Cindy?"

"He tried his hardest to keep you from leaving!" Jimmy exclaimed. "He's given up hope, and he doesn't see the point in trying anymore. In fact, it looks to me that he doesn't even see the point in _anything_ anymore. The way he sees it, life's not worth living unless he's with you. I'm surprised he hasn't killed himself by now."

"That's a nice little answer, Jimmy, but I'm afraid I can't believe it," Cynthia sighed. "I'm sure James is thrilled that he's finally gotten the girl of his dreams. As if he'd really commit suicide over _me_."

"You know what?" Jimmy said, annoyed at Cynthia's response. "I think James was right. There _is_ no point in trying. You're way too stubborn."

Cynthia's mouth dropped open. "_Excuse_ me? He's the stubborn one! All I want is for him to apologize, but James never wants to admit his mistakes. Never."

Cindy shifted uncomfortably. "I still think there's no harm in trying," she spoke up. "Jimmy and I will go talk to him and see if we can work something out. Right, Jimmy?"

He shrugged. "Whatever."


	5. One On One

_Here's another chapter! I'm on a roll here! And to all of you who reviewed, I've left you comments at the bottom of the page. Hope you like this chapter!_

**

* * *

Disclaimer: **

I do not own Jimmy Neutron.**

* * *

**

Chapter 5: One On One

"OK, Jimmy, I know that you think all of this is pointless," Cindy said as they approached James' mansion for the second time that day. "But can you at least act a _little_ supportive?"

Jimmy frowned. "Of course it's pointless, Cindy!" he exclaimed. "James finally got Betty; why should he care about Cynthia?"

Cindy gasped. "How could you say that?" she demanded. "I thought you were all for getting them back together, you—you selfish brat!"

A grin played on Jimmy's face, and he shook his head. "Of course I am. I was just trying to show you how ridiculous that sounds!"

Cindy's mouth dropped open. That wasn't her idea of a joke. "Not helping!" she exclaimed with a huff. "Look, on second thought, just don't say anything. OK?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes as she turned and knocked on the door. Why did she have to act like she was in charge of everything? He was getting pretty sick of it.

James opened the door, and Jimmy and Cindy were reminded of how Cynthia had looked not that long before—dull and listless eyes, pale skin—as if there wasn't any life left in him. Finally he spoke. "Please tell me that you have good news."

Cindy had to admit that James sure didn't look like someone who had just won over the girl of his dreams, but she reminded herself that he was probably only dealing with the consequences of his stupid actions. "Actually, Jimmy couldn't persuade either of us, so I came to hear your side of the story." She smiled. "Is that OK?"

James really didn't want to explain the situation any more, but he did have a soft spot when it came to Cindy. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's—that's fine, Cindy." He motioned towards the living room sofa. "If you want, you can have a seat, and"—he turned to Jimmy—"do you want to go see the lab so I can talk with Cindy one on one?"

Jimmy's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me?" he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "That would be the best thing _ever_!"

James smiled and pointed. "Go down that hall, turn right, and take the elevator on the left down to the basement. You'll have to use the retina scanner before it starts moving downwards, but that shouldn't be a problem."

"Whoa!" Cindy shrieked, eyes widening in awe. "We have an _elevator_?"

"Cynthia had me install it," James explained.

"Sweet," Cindy muttered. Louder, she asked, "Do you—or did you—always listen to her?"

James nodded. "Most of the time. She's a really big help with my inventions, you know."

"You let her help you with your inventions?" Jimmy gasped in disbelief.

"Yeah." James shrugged. "That's what I just said, isn't it?"

"That's crazy!" Jimmy exclaimed. "Are you out of your mind? You know the rule. No females allowed in the lab."

"Yeah?" James laughed. "Try telling that to your wife." Cindy giggled.

"Well, I'm going to go check it out," Jimmy declared. "Have fun with your little talk." With that, he turned around and went off down the hallway that James had mentioned.

"OK, Cindy, let's get started," James said, taking a seat next to her. "Where should I begin?"

"Well…" Cindy furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "I need you to convince me that you haven't been secretly dating Betty. So why don't we start with the time that you realized that you were in love with me—er, I mean Cynthia?"

James took a deep breath. "Well, I realized I wanted to marry her when we were in college," he began. "I was seventeen years old. You see, when I was twelve I realized that I was ready to go back to Pomona and complete my college degree. By the time I was sixteen I had already earned my masters degree, and I took up a job as a professor while I worked on my doctorate. Cynthia just happened to be in my Physics 101 class. We struck up a friendship, which I found out later was just a part of her plan to embarrass me in front of my class. She was trying to get close to me so that I would share a theory with her that I was working on, but the plan backfired. Not only did I fall in love with her, but she also fell in love with me. I proposed to her and she accepted. We were married in June, immediately after she turned eighteen."

"Wow," Cindy exhaled. "I can't believe you got married so _soon_. Eighteen is a pretty young age to decide whom you're going to spend the rest of your life with. Besides, didn't you want to wait until you were sure that you could support a family?"

"I admit that I might've rushed things a little," James replied, "but I already _was_ able to support both Cynthia and myself. I had come up with a few inventions that skyrocketed in sales, and I had a steady income flowing from my teaching position. I even owned my own home, although it wasn't quite as big as this one is. I was just so infatuated with her that I felt like I couldn't wait any longer."

"Do you think that was a mistake now?" Cindy asked.

"Well, I had been feeling that way…," James started to say, "but then I decided that no matter what comes of our relationship, the two years we spent together were the best years of my life. I wouldn't trade anything for that."

"You mean, you'd never go back in time to prevent yourself from marrying her?" Cindy wanted to know.

"No, I wouldn't," James said firmly. "I wish that she could see how much I love her. I would never do anything to hurt her like this."

"But what about Betty?" Cindy persisted. "Remember how much you liked her? Don't you still feel that way?"

"Cindy, that was in fifth grade." James shook his head. "I'm twenty now. Do you really think that I would still have a crush on her? She's changed a lot, and I realized a long time ago that she wasn't the one for me."

"You know, I think I'm starting to believe you," Cindy said with a sigh. "This makes everything so much more complicated. All I had to do was try and get you to apologize, but now I'm going to have to help change Cynthia's mind."

"Well, look at it this way: you're the same person," James reminded her. "So if anyone can change her mind about me, wouldn't it be you?"

Slowly a smile spread across Cindy's face. "You're right!" she agreed. "Now all I have to do is come up with a plan."

* * *

_Thanks for reading Chapter 5! Now, to get on to those comments..._

_XxDoCxX: Thanks for the quick review! Sorry about the ending. I guess I could've made it stronger... Oh, well. I'm just glad that was the only thing you found wrong with the chapter. Looking forward to your next critique!_

_The J.A.M. a.k.a Nubmuh i: Cindy just flew off the handle when she heard the story on TV, as did Cynthia when she first heard Betty's story. Then, of course, she wanted to take Cynthia's side immediately. Cynthia already explained her feelings in the last chapter about why she believed Betty and not Jimmy. Libby doesn't necessarily believe Betty; that's why in the first chapter she wanted to hear what James had to say on the radio. However, she does want to stick by her friend and support her view. Last but not least, Jimmy always hides his feelings. Although he may not be happy with the situation, deep down inside he likes being married to Cynthia._

_Lady Lola Laflaunda: You've got that right! Maybe Cindy can help clear that up soon. Glad you like the story!_

_Aaliyah93: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope to be a writer in the near future, and I'm a real big grammar freak! LOL. I can't stand when something is incorrect grammatically. I even try to fix my friends' stories, but unfortunately most of them hate it when I do that. To answer your question, James sounds like a smart adult, and _not _like a surfer dude as he did in TTB._


	6. The Persuasion

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Persuasion**

"OK," Cindy said, rubbing her hands together. "Dial Cynthia's number for me. I need to talk to her."

James nodded and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He flipped it open and said "Libby home" into the mouthpiece. She looked at him oddly. "Voice activation," he explained. She nodded. When it started dialing, he handed it to Cindy, who in turn held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" someone greeted her on the other end. She could tell immediately by the voice that it was Libby.

"This is Cindy," she responded. "Can I talk to Cynthia?"

"Sure," Libby agreed. "Hold on for a sec."

Cindy heard the phone fumble around for a moment, and then, "Hey, Cindy. What's up?"

"Look, Cynthia, I just got done talking to James," Cindy began to say, "and I—"

"Did you get him to admit it?" Cynthia interrupted. James shook his head, apparently overhearing her.

"Cynthia, I really think you need to listen to what he has to say for himself," Cindy replied. Cindy could hear that Cynthia was about to protest, so she quickly went on. "Now, before you say anything, just listen to me. He told me about how you ended up together, and it's obvious that he's still head over heels for you. You never gave him a chance to explain himself when Betty made up that garbage, and I think you need to at least hear him out."

Cynthia sighed on the other end. "Are you done?" she asked impatiently.

"Yes, I am," Cindy confirmed, afraid that what she had just finished saying hadn't gotten her anywhere.

"Look, I know all that I need to know," Cynthia told her. "I don't need James making up lies and acting all romantic to persuade me to come back. All I want is an apology, or he can forget about me."

James became furious, and he looked as if he was about to argue back, but Cindy placed her hand on his mouth to prevent him from speaking. "Cynthia, come on," she pleaded. "All I'm asking for is one hour to hear him out. One hour."

There was a silence as Cynthia thought about this for a moment, and then she finally gave in. "All right, Cindy, you win. But if it turns out to be longer than that, I'm leaving. I want you to tell him that I'm not doing this for him; I'm doing it because _you_ want me to. Understand?"

"Did you hear that?" Cindy mouthed to James. He nodded, so she continued to Cynthia, "Here's the plan. James is going to have dinner waiting for you here tomorrow at six. You can come over, eat, and talk about what happened. At seven you're free to go, but you can't leave a minute before then. And you _have_ to listen to what he has to say; you can't just take over and argue the entire time. Are we good?"

Cynthia sighed, not too happy with the conditions. Nevertheless, she complied. "We're good," she told Cindy. "Tell him I'll see him tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Cindy exclaimed. All they needed was a chance, and now they were finally going to get it. She would make completely sure that nothing at all could go wrong.

"Oh, and Cindy?" Cynthia added.

"Yes?" Cindy responded, still ecstatic that Cynthia had actually agreed to her idea.

"Will you be spending the night over here at Libby's, or are you just going to stay with James?" Cynthia asked.

Cindy shot a glance at James, who shrugged. "Um, I think I'll be staying right where I am, but thanks for the offer," she answered.

"OK, I'll let Libby know," Cynthia replied. "Talk to you later."

"Bye." Cindy hung up, and then looked up at James excitedly. "She's going to do it!" she squealed happily. "Can you believe that?"

"Cindy, how did you do that?" he asked her, a big smile on his face.

"I guess you were right," Cindy mused. "She _did _listen to herself!" They both laughed, and before she realized it, Cindy was being pulled into one of James' killer hugs again.

"A 20-year-old flirting with an 11-year-old? Talk about sickening!"

Cindy yanked herself from James' arms and turned around to find Jimmy standing behind them, his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. "Oh, shut up, Neutron!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "You know that he's not flirting! Besides, we have good news!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "You don't really think I was serious, do you?" he scoffed. "I was only making fun of what you said about Cynthia earlier. It works both ways, you know." He glared at her triumphantly over the comeback.

"So, are you interested in the good news or not?" Cindy snapped at him, choosing to ignore his explanation for the remark.

"Shoot," Jimmy replied, trying to act uninterested.

Cindy took a deep breath. "I talked to Cynthia on the phone, and she's going to come hear James out tomorrow over dinner at six. She sounded skeptical, but at least she's willing to listen to him. Now all we have to do is work on how we're going to convince her." Cindy paused and bit her lip. "I thought at first that she would believe him automatically if she would only hear his side of the story, but now I'm thinking we might have to jazz things up a bit. You know, show her that he really cares about her?"

Jimmy held up his hands. "Whoa, stop. Last thing I heard, you were on Cynthia's side. Now you've switched all of a sudden?"

"James puts up a really good argument," Cindy laughed, punching him lightly on the arm.

Jimmy bristled, feeling a pang of jealousy. "Oh, really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

James shrugged. "All I did was tell her the story of how we fell in love," he explained. "She pretty much believed me from then on."

"Yeah, and I also asked him a few questions," Cindy added, recalling the conversation. "But, I mean, you were right. It's obvious that James really loves Cynthia. He totally didn't deserve for Betty to do this to him. Why, if I could just get my hands on her—" Cindy stopped, clenching both her fists and her teeth. Why did Betty have to be such a good-for-nothing jerk? She'd always known that girl was trouble, and it now looked like she was right in her thinking.

James placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know. Believe me, I've felt the same way. But revenge isn't the way to fix things."

"When did you turn into such a goody-goody?" Cindy asked him, a smile playing on her lips.

James grinned back. "You learn things over the years, Cindy. It really is true that you get wiser as you age."

"Oh, is that so?" Cindy replied, still smiling. "And here I thought that the amazing Jimmy Neutron knew everything there was to know at the age of eleven." James laughed while Jimmy frowned.

"Just tell me what you want me to do," Jimmy sighed in exasperation.

"All right," Cindy agreed. "We need to set everything up so it's all romantic. We're going to need a really nice dinner, and use all the good silverware. I'm also thinking about candlelight and flowers. What about you guys?"

"That's great, Cindy," James began, "except for one little thing."

"What's that?" she asked curiously. She thought she'd covered all the bases, but maybe there was something she'd missed. Dinner, silverware, candles, and flowers…what else could spice things up? Oh, of course! "And you'll have to dress nicely," she added.

"No, that's not what I was talking about. Everything's great. It's just that…I can't cook," James admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, then we'll just have spaghetti!" Cindy exclaimed, relieved that it was nothing major. "You _do_ know how to make that, don't you?"

"Sure," James nodded. "No problem."

"OK, then," Cindy sighed. "We have a _lot_ to do tomorrow. Absolutely nothing can go wrong. But for now, what room am I staying in?" she inquired. Surely any room in this huge house could beat staying in Libby's small apartment.

"You can stay in any room you like," James told her.

"Really?" Cindy asked excitedly. "Any room? Any room at all?"

* * *

James banged on the door in front of him. "Cindy, come on. When I said 'any room,' I didn't mean mine!" 

He was standing outside of his bedroom, Jimmy next to him. He had taken both of the kids up to the second floor and told them to pick a room. Unfortunately for him, Cindy immediately fell in love with the master bedroom and had locked herself inside of it.

"Well, you should've told me that before I got all settled in!" Cindy yelled back to him. "I like this one!"

"Yeah? How do you think I feel?" James sighed and shook his head.

"You might as well give up," Jimmy advised. "I don't think she's planning on coming out anytime soon."

* * *

_A/N: As with _Strange Memories_, I'm putting all of my updates down here from now on._

_XxDoCxX: Wow, I'm glad that you think so! I'm happy you enjoyed it, and I hope you liked this one just as much. Thanks again for your coaching. You're always the first one to review!_

_acosta perez jose ramiro: Thank you; I'm glad you liked them! Yes, someone else told me they liked how Cynthia and Libby interact with Jimmy and Cindy, so I must be doing something right! I'm glad you didn't think that the James/Cindy discussion was too boring. I was trying to make it as interesting as possible. I'm even been thinking for a long time now of making a story based on James' story of how he and Cynthia hooked up. If you don't mind, maybe you could give me your opinion on that as well. Thanks for reviewing!_

_jimlover54: Thank you! I sure will try to!_

_okmeamithinknow: Well, here it is! Hope you liked it!_

_Sonomi-chan: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I'm definitely going to try my hardest to finish this one, and I hope you liked Chapter 6!_

_rohe2geth4evr: Yes, Cindy does seem more open to the future than Jimmy does_—_that's for sure! I'm glad that you like that, and I'm pleased at your "addiction!" :) Thanks for reviewing!_

_WAYAMY27NARF: Why, thank you! As you've seen from this chapter, that's not exactly how things are going to work, but I hope you will continue to enjoy the way the story plays out anyway._

_Andre.ar: I'm glad you've had some extra time to read it, too! I can't believe all of the compliments you've given me, and that I've actually inspired you to start writing! As an author, that is one of the most honoring things I could ever hear from someone. Thank you for all of the encouragement, and I hope you will continue to read my stories in the future! Thanks for reviewing!_


	7. The Perfect Fit 3000

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 7: The Perfect Fit 3000

Cindy awoke the next morning to find herself cuddled up in James' huge king-sized bed. Surely he didn't need such a massive one all to himself…but then she remembered that up to two months prior, Cynthia had shared it with him. Cindy shuddered. No matter how much more appealing the future was appearing by the second, this new aspect was more than a little creepy.

Cindy yawned and pulled off the comforter, and then climbed out of bed, wondering to herself if the boys were awake yet. Before leaving to find out, however, she wanted to take a good look around the room. She first headed over to a door on the left side of the room. It appeared to be a big walk-in closet, but when she peeked inside, there was nothing in it.

_Hm, that's funny_, Cindy thought to herself, frowning all the while. This was probably another of James' inventions, and there must be some way to activate it. She took a step inside and closed the door behind her. Suddenly she heard a whirring noise, and it became pitch black. Cindy held still as a red light scanned her figure. When it was finished, the lights turned back on, revealing racks and racks of clothes—not to mention rows of shoes underneath, and a shelf with a bunch of accessories on it. What was even odder was that when she examined the articles of clothing, they were all exactly her size.

_It's almost as if—as if they were designed for me!_ Cindy realized. Immediately the closed door, darkness, and scanner all made sense. They were all parts of some sort of contraption that could produce clothes and shoes that would fit you perfectly. She skimmed through the various outfits, and a long-sleeved shirt with green stripes caught her eye. After all, it was October, and the weather was a little chilly outside. Besides the shirt, she also found some black pants, a green belt, and black Converse shoes. She then spied a black and green necklace that would match perfectly. Satisfied with her choices, she quickly changed, and when she opened the door to leave the closet, everything disappeared again. Had she dreamed it all? Cindy glanced down at her ensemble and decided against that idea. This had definitely been one of James' inventions, and she had to admit that it was a great one.

Next she headed to the bathroom, where she allowed another of James' inventions to do her teeth, hair, and make-up. Flipping through the various hairstyle choices, she rested upon a bun, leaving two strands of hair to hang down her face. Once she was done, she stepped back to examine herself in the mirror.

Suddenly a knock was heard on the door. "Cindy!" James called. "You have to let me in now. I need to get ready!"

Cindy hurried over, unlocked the door, and then swung it open. "Hi!" she said brightly. "How do I look?"

James glanced down at her, confused, when suddenly a smile broke out on his face. "Oh! You must have discovered the mall!" he chuckled.

"The mall?" Cindy asked, frowning in bewilderment. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"I mean the closet. The mall was our little nickname for my invention, the Perfect Fit 3000, which was another one of Cynthia's brilliant ideas," James explained. He glanced over at it and sighed. "Man, I miss having her around to help me with things like that. It seems like ages since we've both worked in the lab together."

Cindy looked at him sympathetically. "Don't worry," she tried to cheer him, "today all of that will change!"

Jimmy smiled half-heartedly. "I hope so, Cindy. I sure do hope so."

* * *

James opened a kitchen cabinet. "Spaghetti," he said. Instantly a package appeared, which he grabbed and ripped open. "So, I just put this in the pot, right?" he asked Cindy.

"First you have to break the noodles in half," Cindy instructed. Duh, everyone knew that. She eyed him suspiciously. "I thought you said you knew how to make it, genius."

"Well, mostly, anyway," James mumbled as he followed Cindy's coaching. After breaking them, he placed the noodles into the pot full of water that was sitting on the stove. He was about to turn the dial to high, when Cindy stopped him.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "Did you put the oil in yet?"

"Oil?" James asked, perplexed. "What do I need that for?"

"You have to put in a drop of oil so that the noodles won't stick to the bottom," Cindy explained. She let out a laugh. "Boy, when you said you couldn't cook, you weren't kidding!"

James grinned. "Well, who really needs to learn when you have a smart kitchen?" he asked. "Not to mention a wonderful wife who doesn't mind doing it herself." He winked at Cindy, who giggled in return.

"Sometimes I think you haven't changed at all," she told him. "Always looking for the easy way out of things."

"Thanks a lot, Vortex," Jimmy remarked. He was leaning up against a wall, watching the two interact with one another as they prepared for Cynthia's arrival. He was getting pretty annoyed with the way they played around with one another, and was almost positive that Cindy had a thing for his older self.

"Jimmy, you can just shut up," Cindy snapped. "I wasn't talking to you. And anyway, do you realize that you've left James and I to do all the work? You didn't help us with anything. Not the flowers, not the candles, not the place settings...and now you're not even helping with dinner!"

"So?" Jimmy shrugged. "You can see how little he knows about this, and I'm nine years younger. What do you honestly expect from me?"

"At least he's actually trying!" Cindy huffed. "You act like...like you don't even care whether or not James stays heartbroken for the rest of his life! And you were the one who was trying so desperately to convince us of his faithfulness. Who needs you anyways?" Jimmy shook his head, his eyes portraying a look of...disappointment? Cindy couldn't tell. But whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Apparently not you," Jimmy said. With that, he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

_A/N: Hi, everyone! That was Chapter 7! I'm sorry that it was sort of on the boring side. It was more of a transitional piece, and the next one should be more entertaining. My love to all of you!_

_Philip the Great: That's fine, as long as I know that you're still reading it! I'm glad that you like it, and happy 2007 to you, too!_

_WAYAMY27NARF: Oh, then that's good! Yes, I know what you mean about Jimmy. We don't want him ruining it for the both of them, now do we? I hope you like the next chapter; this one was sort of just a transition and not as interesting. Oh, well. Keep reading!_

_MidnightSuburbia: Sorry about all the Betty bashing. As you've probably already guessed, I don't like her one bit. Thank you for continuing to read on anyways, though. I must be doing something right, then! I understand about the alerts. I was missing your reviews for a while! Everything's cool, though. Thanks for the compliments despite what I've said about Betty! I look forward to reading your reviews in the future!_

_Lady Lola Laflaunda: Yes, they've finally convinced her to come hear him out! Let's just hope everything goes smoothly for them..._

_Stay-Away: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. The dinner part should be coming in the next chapter, and I hope that this one didn't bore you too much! Keep reading!_

_acosta perez jose ramiro: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for telling me what you think about my other idea. I wasn't sure if it was a good one, but I might get around to writing it once I've finished this one. You know, as a sort of prequel? Thanks for reviewing!_

_xJCManiak12x: Thank you! I'm beginning to think that this_ is_, in fact, my best story so far. It seems that I'm getting better as I go along. Glad you like it!_

_Aaliyah93: Well, thank you! One of my other friends told me that I should start writing JN episodes for DNA Productions, LOL. That would be awesome, I must admit! I didn't realize that I had the anonymous reviews blocked, so I went ahead and fixed that for you! About the last part in Chapter 6: yes, I did write that just to make people laugh. I'm glad that it was amusing to someone other than me! Thanks for reading!_


	8. Cynthia's Visit

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Cynthia's Visit**

"Jimmy, wait!" Cindy called after him. "That's not fair!" She turned to James with a worried frown on her face. "Do you think I should go apologize?"

James shrugged. "That's up to you, Cindy," he told her.

Cindy bit her lip and glanced at the pot of spaghetti on the stove. "Could you watch that for me?" she asked. "I won't be long." James nodded. Although her better judgment told her that he couldn't be trusted for even five minutes with the food, she ignored it and went off after Jimmy.

She found him sulking on the living room couch. "What do you want, Vortex?" he snapped as she sat down next to him.

"Look, Jimmy, I didn't mean it," Cindy sighed. "I'm just really stressed out about trying to make everything perfect, and, well…your attitude certainly wasn't helping things any."

"So now it's my fault again?" Jimmy demanded. "Look, Cindy, I'm just really tired of you being all sweet to James, and then turning around and acting like I'm some uncaring jerk!"

"Well, you were the same way when it came to Cynthia!" Cindy reminded him. "Did you think that I didn't feel at least a little bit hurt at how you treated me then? You never care about anyone but yourself!"

Jimmy stared into her deep green eyes, wishing profusely that he could tell her the truth. He _did_ care—he cared about her so much, and yet all he could do was fight with her. Would anything ever really change between them? He doubted it. Even now in the future, when they had finally gotten together, something—or should he say, some_one_—had shown up and ruined it.

"Cindy," he began after a moment, "I know you don't realize it, but I care a lot more about this than you think. Why do you think I'm still here? James had a time machine back in his lab. With one flip of the switch, I could be out of here. But I decided to stay. I may not be the biggest help, but I do care. Sometimes I just wish that…never mind." _Sometimes I just wish that you treated me the same way you treat my older self_, Jimmy finished in his head.

"I'm sorry," Cindy apologized. After a second, she added softly, "Why are we doing this?"

"Doing what?" Jimmy asked.

"Why are we trying to get them back together again?" she replied. "We hate each other, right? So why are we trying to make sure that we stay married in the future? I mean, it would be more logical to break them up."

"I know," Jimmy agreed. "Believe me, I've thought of going back in time two years to make sure that we never get married in the first place."

"And why haven't you?" Cindy persisted.

"Because of James," Jimmy admitted. "He told me that I would only be miserable if I did that. It's obvious that he really loves Cynthia, like you said before. He really loves you."

"Cindy!" James called from the kitchen, breaking up their "moment."

Cindy rolled her eyes and groaned, and then shot Jimmy a smile. "Sorry," she said, standing to her feet. "I'd better go see what he wants before something dreadful happens."

Jimmy laughed. "It's fine." He followed her back into the kitchen where they finished getting ready for Cynthia's arrival.

* * *

At six o'clock sharp, there was a knock at the door. James drew in a breath. _This is it_, he told himself. He turned the handle and opened the door slowly, his heart pounding in his chest. There she stood, looking just as beautiful as he had imagined her. 

Jimmy and Cindy were downstairs in the lab, watching everything from a monitor. James had set up video cameras and sound devices in every room of the house as a security feature, so that when he was working on an invention, he could still easily keep track of everything that was going on. It worked out perfectly for Cindy, who wanted to witness everything and yet stay out of sight and hearing so that James and Cynthia could be alone.

"Cynthia," James whispered, seemingly entranced with her, "you look wonderful."

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Oh, cut it out," she snapped, taking a step inside and closing the door behind her. "I know that I could never compare to Quinlan. Especially not now."

James shook his head. That wasn't true in the least bit. But what had she meant by the last statement? Suddenly a realization came over him, and he blurted out, "You're—you're pregnant!"

"Took you long enough," Cynthia huffed, crossing her arms.

"I can't believe it! That's the best news ever!" James vociferated, not allowing Cynthia's mood to dampen his own. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You weren't supposed to know about it," Cynthia grumbled. "It would've stayed a secret, too, if I had just turned Cindy down."

"How far along are you?" James asked, still enthusiastic despite Cynthia's hostility.

"Four months," she replied curtly.

"So you know whether it's a boy or girl," James concluded. Cynthia nodded, but didn't speak. "Well?"

She hesitated, and then finally said, "Two girls."

"You're having twins?" he exclaimed. At her nod, he couldn't resist throwing his arms around her and holding her tightly to himself. "I love you, Cynthia," he whispered softly, stroking her long blonde hair.

Tears began streaming down her face. "Don't say that," she choked out. "You don't really. You don't."

James pulled his head away to look her in the eyes. "Yes, I do," he stated simply.

Before Jimmy and Cindy knew what was going on, they were suddenly witnessing a long, passionate kiss happening between the two adults.

"Leapin' leptons, they're making out!" Jimmy exclaimed with a shudder. "How disgusting!"

Cindy giggled, still gazing at the screen in front of them. "I don't know," she said with a smile, "I think it's kind of…cute…"

Jimmy stared at her in shock. Surely she didn't mean what he thought she meant.

Cindy caught the look he was giving her and quickly blurted out, "I mean, not like, cute for us! Cute for them! Because, uh, they're married and…stuff…" She cringed, inwardly calling herself names for being so stupid.

Jimmy opened his mouth to speak, but before he had a chance to, a movement on the monitor caught his eye. Cynthia had suddenly shoved James away from her, a scowl on her face. "I should've known that you'd do this," they heard her snap. "You're trying to woo me back to you and make me forget that anything ever happened. Well, it won't work. I'm not planning on forgetting anytime soon."

"That's not what I was doing!" James protested, his face filled with hurt.

"Whatever." Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Look, we both know the reason I'm here. So let's get to the point. When are you going to confess what you've done?"

James sighed. "Why don't we go talk about this over dinner, as planned?" he suggested. "Cindy worked kind of hard on setting things up for that."

"Fine," Cynthia agreed. Frowning, she followed him through the kitchen and into the dining room.

The big wooden table looked amazing, she had to admit. James had set out her favorite dishes and silverware, and there were floating candles in the glasses. A vase of roses was placed in the middle as a centerpiece. "I thought you didn't like candles," she remarked as he pulled back her chair for her.

James smiled. "I just don't like using them as a primary source of light," he reminded her, taking a seat himself.

Cynthia examined the food in front of her. "Smart kitchen?" she guessed with a laugh.

"No, actually, I made that all by myself," he bragged. Cynthia raised an eyebrow and smiled. "OK, so Cindy helped a little bit," he admitted. She laughed again. Wow, he sure did love that sound.

"So, basically, I made this," she smirked. James had never thought of it that way, but he supposed she was right. "Anyway, let's cut the chit chat. I believe you have a confession to make."

"You're right, Cynthia," James sighed. "I do."

* * *

_A/N: I forgot to mention that Chapter 7 was dedicated to my best friend, Katrina. She was a big help with the idea and title for the Perfect Fit 3000. Anyway, I think Chapter 8 is my longest chapter so far. I decided to end it with that last statement to make things a little more interesting for all of you. Please review and tell me what you think!_

_**retroville9**: Thank you! I hope that it will continue to get better._

_**Stay-Away**: Was this update soon enough for you? I sure hope so! Thanks for the review!_

_**starrlightstarbrite**: Yeah, I threw that in there to be funny. I'm glad that I seem to have succeeded. Cindy rocks. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**Hermione Granger63**: Here's that update you asked for! I hope you liked it!_

_**Sonomi-chan**: Yes, poor Jimmy. But at least Cindy was kind enough to apologize in this chapter! I hope you liked it!_

_**Aaliyah93**: I always look forward to your reviews! They seem to be the longest and the most fun. Anyways, I did have some help with the Perfect Fit 3000. I had the initial idea for it, and then my friend Katrina sort of helped me expand it and gave me some suggestions. It would be pretty sweet to have one of those in real life, huh?_

_Yes, I felt bad for Jimmy too. But, being the author, I knew that it would be a great opportunity for a good talk with Cindy. That's cool that you have a Jimmy plush! So do I, and I sleep with it every night. :) Thanks for reviewing, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next one!_


	9. James' Confession

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 9: James' Confession**

Cindy and Jimmy exchanged worried glances. What was he talking about? They had been so sure that he was telling the truth. What was this "confession" that he was referring to all of a sudden?

"Maybe he doesn't think that she'll believe him, so he's going to pretend that he did cheat on her after all, and then just apologize for it," Jimmy guessed.

"No, he's way to prideful to apologize for something that he didn't do," Cindy reminded him, shaking her head. Jimmy rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.

* * *

Cynthia's heart soared. He was finally going to tell her what she wanted to hear! It was almost too good to be true. Maybe Cindy had gotten to him after all. 

"Cynthia, I never told you this, but…" James hesitated. "Betty _had_ started to…_communicate_ with me a few months ago."

"I knew it!" Cynthia cried out.

"Wait, listen," James told her, holding up a hand. "She started calling me on my cell phone and began telling me all these outrageous things."

"Like what?" Cynthia inquired, pressing for more information.

"It was all a bunch of stupid stuff. Like, that I was too good for you, and that she'd always loved me, and how we'd always been meant for each other." James' face turned red, and he clenched his fists tightly. "I never listened to a word of it, but I didn't want to tell you about it because I knew it would make you upset." He sighed remorsefully. "Now I see that I should've. Perhaps it would've prevented this whole mess."

"Continue," Cynthia nodded, mulling over this new information.

"Anyway, finally I blew up at her," James continued. "I insulted her, and told her not to ever call me again. Unfortunately, I think that was what caused her to go spread that rumor to everyone—it was sort of a way to get back at me."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Cynthia demanded.

"Because I—," James started to say.

"Wait, don't even say it. It's because it isn't true, is it?" she accused, suddenly angry again.

"What?" James exclaimed in surprise. "Of course it's true! How can you say that?"

"All you ever do is lie," Cynthia snapped. "How do you expect me to believe you? I don't trust you anymore, James. If you told me the whole story, then that would be different. But you're still trying to make yourself look like the good guy."

"Cynthia, that _is_ the whole story," James insisted, heartbroken.

"That's it," she said abruptly. "I never wanted it to come to this, but—"

* * *

"_Divorce papers_?" Cindy cried out. "How could she do this?" Tears began streaming down her face. "I tried so hard…" 

"You did everything you could, Cindy," Jimmy whispered. "It's not your fault."

"It _is_ my fault, Jimmy!" Cindy sobbed. "You don't understand. She's _me_! I can't believe I turned out to be such a jerk. I hate myself!"

Jimmy rested his hand on her shoulder, gazing at her sadly. "Maybe we should just go home, Cindy," he suggested. "We should've never gotten involved."

"No! I can't!" she protested. "I _have_ to fix this. I have to. I'm going to go give her a piece of my mind!"

"Cindy, wait!" Jimmy called, trying to prevent her from going upstairs. It was no use, however. She had already taken off towards the elevator. There was nothing left to do but follow her.

* * *

"I'm not going to divorce you, Cynthia," James was saying. "I love you." 

"No, you _don't_!" Cynthia yelled, standing to her feet and pushing back the chair. He followed suit and stood up as well.

"Yes, he _does_!" Cindy yelled back, rushing in from the kitchen. Jimmy stood behind her silently.

"Cindy? Jimmy?" Cynthia gasped. "Where'd you two come from?"

"They were in the lab," James explained.

Cynthia turned to him angrily. "You mean to say that they saw and heard everything?" she demanded. He nodded. "I can't believe you did that! All that stuff that you did and said—it was planned, wasn't it? I bet they already told you about the twins and everything!"

"No, that's not true!" James protested frantically. He had hoped so badly that this would day would change everything—but all it was doing was making things worse. Suddenly he felt like he was losing her all over again.

"Oh, yeah, that's a likely story!" Cynthia said sarcastically.

"He's telling the truth!" Cindy shouted, her breathing heavy. "You're just too steadfast to listen!"

"What are you trying to say?" Cynthia asked defensively. "He's the stubborn one!"

Cindy shook her head fervently. "No, he's not," she said softly. "You said that he never admits to his mistakes—and he just did. He hadn't even told Jimmy or me about Betty's phone calls. He realized that it was wrong to keep it from you, and he apologized. Imagine how hard that was for him. If he cares enough about telling you that, don't you think he'd tell you if he was having an affair with her? He loves you a lot, Cynthia. You're just too blind to see that. _I_ was too blind to see that." Here she gazed at Jimmy thoughtfully, wishing she could grab one of his hands.

Cynthia sighed. "I'm—I'm sorry, Cindy, I just can't believe that," she said slowly, shaking her head. She turned to James. "I'm sorry." Glancing at her watch and seeing that an hour and a half had already gone by, she pushed past Jimmy and Cindy and kept walking—all the way out of the front door.

* * *

_A/N: I'm sorry if that one was a little bit on the short side. It might be my last chapter for a while, because I'm going back with my mom tomorrow. Also, I have to profusely apologize to all of those who read the mistake that I made in the last chapter! It has since been fixed, but I still feel awful that I didn't notice that after all of my proofreading!_

_kprrs3000: Thank you! Here's that chapter you asked for!_

_Sonomi-chan: Well, this chapter should've answered your question! I'm glad you liked the last one, and that I've been an inspiration to you! I'll be looking for those updates that you mentioned, LOL._

_Hermione Granger63: Thank you so much for pointing that out to me; I can't believe that I missed that! Hope you liked Chapter 9!_

_acosta perez jose ramiro: Thank you! I'm glad that I seem to be doing a good job on them. Yes, Cynthia definitely has some problems right now, but she'll come around eventually...we hope._

_starrlightstarbrite: I'm glad you liked it, but I'm so sorry about what that last line did to everyone! I still can't believe what a big mistake I did with that. Well, I hope you still like the rest of the story._

_Lady Lola Laflaunda: He he, I left everyone with that line on purpose so that they'd start getting all confused and freaked out. Looks like it worked! Anyway, hopefully his explanation in this chapter was reassuring._

_Emily: LOL, thank you! Here's the update you wanted. I hope it was quick enough!_


	10. The Midnight Talk

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10: The Midnight Talk**

Almost as soon as Cynthia left, James went upstairs and holed himself away in his bedroom. Cindy felt horrible. He had left it up to her, and she had totally ruined everything. It looked as if Cynthia would never speak to him again if her life depended on it. And it was all Cindy's fault.

It became apparent that he wouldn't be coming out for the rest of the night, so Cindy decided to take up the room adjoining Jimmy's. It was smaller than the master bedroom, and probably didn't have the Perfect Fit 300, but she didn't really care at this point. She, like James, was too upset to think about anything other than Cynthia.

This proved to be a hindrance when she was trying to fall asleep that night. She kept thinking about the day's events, over and over, trying to decide what she had needed to do differently. But 'woulda, coulda, shoulda' thoughts wouldn't help her any, and she knew that. It was just really hard...hard facing the fact that she'd failed, hard seeing what she had turned into as an adult, and hard thinking that she and Jimmy really had no future together beyond this. There would be no happy ending for them. And that, right there, might just be the hardest thing she had to accept.

Suddenly Cindy mentally slapped herself on the forehead. _Wake up!_ she told herself. _This is me we're talking about! The one who never gives up, no matter what the circumstances! _But as she thought about it more, the situation seemed pretty hopeless. What else could she do? Was there _really_ any alternative to giving up?

Cindy glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand beside her. _11:47_, it read. Realizing that she should get some sleep, Cindy sighed and tried to force all of the bad thoughts out of her mind. It didn't work. At this point, she'd never be able to fall asleep. A long night of tossing and turning awaited, which was none too thrilling for her.

Cindy's eyes shifted to the door on the left side of the room, the door that led to Jimmy's room. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, but it seemed a lot more welcoming than lying in bed trying to fall asleep unsuccessfully. So, without giving it a second thought, Cindy was up.

She moved across the room quickly and knocked softly on the door in front of her. "Jimmy, can I talk to you for a second?" she said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear her.

"Come in," came the reply. Cindy entered to find a tired boy genius laying in bed, probably still half asleep. "What time is it?" he asked her with a yawn.

"Around 11:45, last time I checked," Cindy admitted sheepishly, knowing that it was even later now. "But, well, I couldn't sleep..."

"Understandable, after all we've been through," Jimmy mused. He probably shouldn't feel too bad for her, but in reality, he did. She had put every effort into her plan, just to produce nothing but more conflict in the long run. "So...do you want to sit down?" Jimmy patted the comforter welcomingly, and Cindy smiled at him gratefully.

"Thanks," she said as she took a seat on the end of his bed. "I know you have every right to hate me."

"Cindy, what are you talking about?" Jimmy asked her, frowning. "You tried your best. Sometimes that's all we can do."

"Even when your best amounts to nothing?" Cindy said, her tone rising in anger. It wasn't aimed at him, but at herself. Jimmy watched in silence as she continued to vent. "I thought the future me would be someone that I could look up to, but now I've realized the truth! I don't have anything to look forward to in the future! Not only have I ruined my own life, but someone else's as well! I'm sorry, Jimmy; really,_ truly_ sorry!" Tears filled her eyes, and she started to cry. It wasn't the kind of crying that one would experience after something trivial, like failing a class, but rather heartwrenching sobs.

Jimmy had to admit, he was afraid. He realized then that the strong, independent Cindy Vortex had an inward weakness, one that she tried to hide from everyone else. She wasn't as big and scary as she portrayed herself to be. She had other feelings and emotions; a part that he'd never seen before. He yanked off the covers and went over to sit beside her. He refrained from speaking; there were some times in life when those around you just needed to know that you cared.

After a while, Cindy's crying ceased. She wiped her eyes and turned to look at him. "I never wanted you to see me cry," she sniffled.

"It's OK, Cindy," Jimmy reassured her gently. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Cindy's ears immediately perked up. "Wh—what?" she asked, startled.

Jimmy grinned. "Yolkians? Dungeon?" he reminded her. "One of the first times you were ever nice to me. I have to return the favor." A small laugh escaped from her lips, and Jimmy felt like patting himself on the back for doing such a good job at cheering her. But, almost as soon as her face brightened, it darkened again.

"This is different," Cindy insisted. "I have every reason to be hard on myself. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be going through this right now!"

"I don't necessarily believe that," Jimmy commented. "Isn't it more of Betty's fault than yours?"

"Betty...Betty Quinlan..." Cindy's hands turned into fists. "What I wouldn't give to show her what I really think of her!"

"Maybe you can...," Jimmy said slowly. His eyes had a faraway look to them, as if he was suddenly lost in thought.

"What good would it do?" Cindy sighed in exasperation, shaking her head. "What good will anything do now? I messed up, and let's face it—Cynthia's never coming back."

"I thought you never gave up!" Jimmy exclaimed in concern. "You're too stubborn, remember?"

"Hey—watch it," Cindy snapped. Being reminded of her strong will wasn't helping the situation any. In fact, that was the biggest reason why Cynthia wouldn't believe James.

"Look, I'm just saying... You were so close! There must be something else we can do!" Jimmy racked his brain for the answer. Unfortunately, the genius part didn't really come into play much when he was dealing with relationships.

"I wasn't close at all," Cindy whispered sadly. "Can't you see it? The reason she agreed to come wasn't me. It was those stupid divorce papers."

The color drained out of Jimmy's face. She was right. Most likely, Cynthia hadn't been listening to a word that James said. She was just waiting for the right time to make their separation permanent.

"I don't want to get divorced," Cindy went on. "I really, _really_ don't want to get divorced." Suddenly her eyes went moist again, and she tried with every effort to hold back the waterworks. "I mean, I know we don't get along now, but if I marry someone I want it to be forever. Til death do us part. Is that so much to ask?" It was no use anymore; the first tear fell down her face, and she feared that the next one would follow shortly after. Instead, she tried to make a joke of it. "Oh great—your bed is going to be soaked now."

Jimmy smiled halfheartedly. "It's OK, I don't really care." He heaved a sigh and scooted back to lean against the wall. "I'm sorry, Cindy."

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" she questioned. "I'm the one to blame here. Cynthia is me, which makes me the one in the wrong. You haven't done anything."

"Yeah, but if I didn't drool over Betty Quinlan so much now, she probably would've believed him from the start," Jimmy said regretfully.

Cindy spun around to look at him. "You're admitting that you drool over her?" she demanded, wondering if she was so tired that her mind was playing tricks on her.

"I never thought that I'd say this, but..." Jimmy hesitated. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Cindy was shocked. "Wow," was all she could say as she joined him in leaning against the wall.

"At first I was thinking that we never should've come here," Jimmy commented, "but now I think I'm kind of glad. Not with the whole issue between our older selves—but I think that I've learned a few things."

"Like not being stubborn?" Cindy guessed.

"And telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," Jimmy quipped, thinking of the phone calls that James had only recently mentioned to Cynthia.

"Not going gaga over Betty," Cindy added with a smirk, playfully jabbing him in the ribs.

"Hey!" Jimmy looked at her, laughed, and then poked her back. "So, does that only apply to Betty, or to all other females as well?"

"Hm..." Cindy scratched her head, pretending to be thinking hard. "It applies to anyone who's not your wife," she stated.

"But I'm not married," Jimmy pointed out with a grin.

Cindy yawned deeply. "Not yet you're not," she said softly, a smile on her face.

"Oh, I see what you're saying. I can go gaga over you and no one else, huh?" Jimmy teased.

Cindy pused her lips. "I never said that," she protested.

"But you were thinking it," Jimmy insisted.

"No...I wasn't..." Cindy yawned once more, and Jimmy realized how tired that she really was.

"You should go to sleep," he told her.

"But I'm not tired," Cindy claimed, rubbing her eyes as she spoke. This told Jimmy otherwise.

"Cindy, people yawn to keep themselves from fainting with fatigue," he went on. "And you just yawned twice in one minute. You _are_ tired."

She knew that he was right, but she wasn't ready to go back to her room yet. "I may be tired," Cindy admitted, "but I won't be able to fall asleep. That's the whole reason I came to talk to you."

"You were probably hoping that I had a solution to our problem, too, weren't you?" Jimmy surmised, sighing. "I'm sorry."

"Cynthia will probably never speak to him again," Cindy remarked, growing depressed once more. "And I don't think that there's anything I can do. Not to mention that it looks like James has pretty much given up once and for all." It was a struggle for her to keep her eyes open, so instead she let them shut as she listened to Jimmy's reply.

"So I noticed," he frowned, scratching his head. "I hate to say this, but...do you think we should just give up and go home? Right now that seems like the only available option. I mean, I haven't talked to Cynthia yet, but I don't think that will help too much either. And then there's always trying to get Betty to confess...but I doubt that she would come straight out and tell us, and it might be a lot of work to trick her into it, you know?" There was a pause. "Cindy?"

Jimmy turned to look at her, only to find that she had fallen asleep after all, her head tilted to the side opposite of his. He _knew_ she needed to go to bed. Oh, well...it didn't really matter too much. As Jimmy watched on, he felt a sudden determination coming on. He couldn't let her just slip away like this. Although the last two options he had mentioned sure didn't seem like they would work, he at least needed to try. If they were the only things that he could come up with, then he would go for it at full force until something new came to mind.

Jimmy sighed. It was starting to look like they would be here for a long time.

* * *

_A/N: Whew! I was _finally_ able to produce a new chapter! It was pretty hard with my mom watching me like a hawk, not to mention school starting back up, _and_ that this is probably my longest chapter yet. But maybe that will make up for the wait. Anyway, tell me what you think!_

_**WAYAMY27NARF: **Yes, I love love! OK, that was pretty lame. Let me refrase that: I love _romance_. Sound better? Good. Anyways, I'm sorry that I couldn't get this chapter out before I left my dad's! I was busy getting my things together and playing with the twins and stuff like that, so I was kind of preoccupied and creatively lacking. Plus, I didn't want to rush things and give you guys a sucky chapter when I could give you a good chapter. But, yeah, here it is! And I'm glad that you like the story so much._

_**acosta perez jose ramiro: **Thank you! I am definitely trying to bring out more emotion as I go along. I am considering the visit to Betty now that you've mentioned it, but I won't give anything away just yet. Glad you liked it!_

_**xJCManiak12x: **That was as fast of an update as I could manage, sorry! I hope it wasn't too long of a wait. And I would have to say that my story is way less than perfect - but I really appreciate all of the enthusiasm, and I'm glad that you like it so much!_

_**Sonomi-chan: **How could I? Well, I'm the author. And authors can make the characters behave however they want! It's wonderful when you have that much power! But seriously, yeah. Cynthia is pretty messed up right now. And I won't even bring up the other thing she's considering besides divorce - you'll hear about that later._

_**MidnightSuburbia: **Yes, she is, isn't she? It really is too bad. Well, here's the update! And thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from you, because I think you're one of my only readers who hates the Betty bashing, so...yeah..._

_**Hermione Granger63: **I know, they really are! It sucks that Cynthia is so blinded by her stubbornness, doesn't it?_

_**Philip the Great: **Well, it certainly isn't over yet, although I don't think I really have that many chapters left to write. It's not as long as my past fanfics, that's for sure. And I'm a fan of happy endings (ha ha_—_the irony!), so it would be sad if this does indeed turn out to be a tragedy (I don't really give anything away, do I?). Thanks for the review!_

_**greenleaf62: **Wow, I'm glad that you like it so much! I think about it all day when I'm in school, too (although perhaps that's because I'm the author and am trying to think of what to write next?). Here's that update you wanted, and, yes_—_James and Cynthia are adorable! They just have to stay married! Although, if I was James, I'd be seriously ticked right now. Ticked enough to agree, maybe? Well, we'll see!_

_**XxDoCxX: **And by 'OMG,' did you mean that it's great or terrible?_

_**Andre.ar: **Thanks for the super long review! I love feedback! Anyways, yes—Cynthia is really getting on my nerves, and I think that James pretty much _has_ given up by now. It's mainly Jimmy and Cindy who are fighting against their futures by this time. Well, again, thanks!_

_**Aaliyah93: **It's OK, I don't mind the length of the review, as long as there is one! And that's pretty awesome that you called me G! All of my really close friends do that, LOL. Anyways, if you can't believe that she'd go THAT far, you especially won't believe how far she'll continue to take this. It's sad, really. I won't promise you the ending, but I do think that you'll like it._

_**Lady Lola Laflaunda: **Yes, he _was _telling the truth. It kind of stinks that Cynthia has to be sort of the bad guy in this, but oh well—things will work out. I mean, I _hope_ that they will._

_**Stay-Away: **Is it long enough this time? The last one was short because I was getting ready to leave my dad's. And hopefully you haven't cried yet, because here is your update!_

_**general shadow wolfsbane: **Thanks! Here's that update!_


	11. October Weddings

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 11: October Weddings**

* * *

Cindy woke up the next morning to find her head buried in Jimmy's shoulder, and her arms wrapped around him in an embrace. Immediately her eyes widened. What the _heck_ was she doing? Had she lost all complete dignity and reserve? Within a few moments she could almost feel her blood boiling. She remembered drifting off, but not like _that_. She instantly shoved him away, only to realize that his arm was around her shoulders! 

"Wh—what?" Jimmy asked in bewilderment, looking around frantically. He blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the light streaming in through the window. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Cindy repeated angrily. "What's _wrong_? I'll tell you what's wrong!" She sprang to her feet and smoothed out her shirt, and then crossed her arms and glared at him. "I demand to know _exactly_ what was going on, Neutron!"

"Well, wh—you fell asleep!" he exclaimed, now fully alert.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Duh, as if I couldn't figure that one out, _genius_."

"But I have a justification!" he protested.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Your head was tilted to the side, so I went to move it. I mean, otherwise you would've woken up this morning with a serious neck cramp," he explained nervously. "But when I lifted it up, you turned and latched onto me. I didn't have anywhere else to put my arm, so I rested in on your shoulders."

"And why didn't you wake me up?" Cindy demanded, still skeptical of his intentions.

"Because I knew you'd yell at me!" Jimmy burst out in exasperation.

"Well, I'm doing that now, so it doesn't make much difference!" Cindy retorted.

"Pukin' Pluto, don't get so upset!" Now he was frustrated. Why was she so insistent on making a such a big deal out of this? Maybe this was what he got for being nice to her last night.

"Well, gee, I wake up to find myself _hugging_ you; don't you think that would seem like a big deal?" she huffed, calming down just a little bit.

"Well, I can definitely understand what you mean," he said awkwardly.

"So...do you wanna go see if James is up?" Cindy changed the subject, shifting her wait from one foot to the other. "Maybe he'll let us use his closet again." It was almost ten a.m., and she was still in her outfit from yesterday. Apparently James hadn't installed a "mall" in every single room of the house.

* * *

They found him in the living room, getting ready to leave for a class that he taught at the university. "James, I'm so sorry!" Cindy rushed to him and hugged the tall genius wearing a lab coat. 

Jimmy rolled his eyes, a little irked by Cindy's burst of affection. She got mad when she hugged him, yet she wasn't the least bit ashamed to glom onto his older self? Something was wrong there.

Cindy was expecting James to smile down at her like usual, but instead he seemed distracted. "Thanks, Cindy," he mumbled. Looking over at Jimmy, he said, "I was thinking...it might be a good time for you two to leave."

"What?" Cindy asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. She let go of him and looked up into his face. "Why?"

"I don't want you to be here when I tell Cynthia that I..." His voice faltered, and he stopped abruptly.

"Tell her what?" Jimmy asked, not able to hide the fearful tone in his voice.

"Tell her that...I...I'm just going to have to let her go, I guess..." James replied. His eyes seemed faraway, and his face was emotionless.

"You can't do that!" Jimmy cried out. Both his and Cindy's eyes were widened in horror. "Do you know what you're doing? I spent all night last night trying to comfort her! She fell asleep on my shoulder, for crying out loud!"

James' interest was perked. "What did you say?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, you just had to go there, didn't you?" Cindy snapped at Jimmy, crossing her arms. "Why don't we go tell the whole world about it?"

"Gee, I didn't know it was a secret!" he retorted, blushing all the while. He looked down and kicked his foot into the carpet. "Besides, it's not like I told him about anything else..."

"There's more?" James almost laughed. "Well, go on," he urged.

"Fine, since Jimmy can't keep his mouth shut, I might as well tell you," Cindy decided grudgingly. Before she could continue, however, James' cellular phone rang and he held up a hand as he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver. There was a pause as whoever was on the other line answered him. "No, Sheen, I haven't forgotten."

Sheen! Being caught up in the situation with Cindy, Jimmy had totally forgotten about his two best friends.

"Yes, I know," James sighed. Another pause. "Of course I'm in a bad mood! My wife is divorcing me! What kind of mood do you think I'd be in?...Yes! She came over yesterday and put on this whole act, and then shoved the papers in my face!...Look, I'm just saying be careful. She _is_ Cynthia's best friend, after all...Well, who gets married in October anyway?...No, I don't mean that. I'll still do it...OK, I've got to go now...Yeah, talk to you later...Bye."

As soon as he hung up, Jimmy blurted out, "Well?"

"Well what?" James asked.

"Aren't you going to tell us what's going on?" Jimmy continued.

"Yeah, what's this talk about getting married in October?" Cindy wanted to know.

James sighed. "Sheen's wedding is next week, and I'm the best man," he explained. "He just called to remind me about it, which he'll probably do every day until it's actually time. I just don't get why they picked October."

"Oh my gosh! Is he marrying Libby?" Cindy squealed.

James nodded.

"Well, why the heck didn't she tell us?" Cindy demanded.

"I don't know; why don't you ask her?" James snapped back. Cindy's eyes widened at his tone of voice. Usually James was so sweet. "It's kind of hard to be excited about someone getting married when _you're_ going through a divorce!"

* * *

_A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone. It's hard enough having homework to take care of, and harder with trying to keep this hidden from my mom. I'm debating on whether or not I should move in with my dad after I earn my associate's degree...if any of you pray, please pray that God gives me wisdom with that! On the positive side, I just got back a paper I wrote from my English teacher yesterday. He's a really hard grader, but I got a perfect score - not one point off. Definitely something to feel good about! I'm also debating on getting an English minor now, but my mom isn't very supportive of that idea. Also - I've reached 100 reviews! How exciting! I owe it all to you. Don't stop now that we've come this far! _

_**greenleaf62: **Yes, that chapter was adorable! I hoped that I wasn't rushing things any. I'm glad that you liked it! I tried to write this one ASAP, but I've been all tied down with school. Blech._

_**acosta jose perez ramiro:** I'm glad that Jimmy's getting involved, too. It always seems that Cindy's the one pushing for their relationship to go further in the show, at least to me. Going back to their own time might help, but in light of the prequel that I'm writing to this, it might not. They'll probably both forget the whole situation by the time it comes to pass, and by then they'll have to go through this all over again. Gosh, time travel is confusing..._

_**Lady Lola Laflaunda: **It _is _sweet! Let's just hope that it results in a positive outcome. It doesn't seem like James is going to be able to hold on much longer...poor James..._

_**Samanthe2121: **Thanks! To answer your question: it would be more beneficial for them to go back in time two or three months, rather than two years. However, they're too oblivious to realize that option, and it would end the story way too quickly...I have a lot more ideas in mind._

_**Sarah: **Thank you, I will! At least, I'll try to!_

_**FredandGeorgetwinsoftheC.O.C.A.: **OK, calm down! The title is a spoof off of Avril Lavigne's song, which is in fact very sad. However, don't jump to conclusions. You'll have to wait and see the end of the story before you can decide whether or not it's happy. I like keeping my readers in suspense, if possible, and the fact that you don't know what the ending will be is a good thing. Just relax, hold on, and again - don't jump to conclusions._

_**Sonomi-chan: **I'm sorry; I know this update isn't very soon at all. And it looks like we might be on the same page with what I'm about to do; just don't tell anyone, OK? The rest of the readers don't know yet... Of course, it might not happen - it's just highly likely. And, yes, it will break their hearts...if they can't get through to her in time._

_**WAYAMY27NARF: **Are you kidding me? That is _too_ weird. I don't watch or read Harry Potter, so I would have absolutely no idea of the author's schedule or anything to do with that at all. Really freaky... __Now, I know that everything would be a lot easier if they just went back in time a couple of months, but I don't like it when stories are predictible. And neither does my English teacher, for that matter (ha ha). I do have somewhat of a plan developed on how they'll work it all out, but for now, you'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. You don't mind, do you? Also, t__o answer your first question: well, I'd have to say 20-year-old Jimmy, but that's only because I'm an obsessive Jimmy fangirl. ;) And, no, I don't listen to either of those artists. I don't really listen to Avril Lavigne either; I just know a couple of her songs, and My Happy Ending seemed to strike me as the perfect parallel to my fanfiction idea._

_**rohe2geth4evr: **That is a good question, and it shows that you're thinking. Nice job. However, I'm writing a prequel to this, and Cynthia's mind wouldn't necessarily change simply because Cindy's been convinced. You see, a lot can happen in the course of nine years, and it's very easy to forget things that you learned when you were eleven. So, yeah, the solution isn't quite as simple as that, but I have things all planned out._

_**Hermione Granger63: **I know; no one wants them to give up, especially not me! But I have to admit...Cynthia's got major problems. Sorry the update wasn't sooner - I explained why in the author's note._

_**Sheenfreek: **Yes, it is very sad that marriages sometimes turn out this way in real life - and usually it does end in divorce. I myself come from a broken home, so I can totally relate. This was as quick of an update as I could manage - sorry! I hope that you're still enjoying the story, despite the long waits._

_**Andre.ar: **Long chapters rock. I don't think this one was too long, though, so I'm sorry. I was trying as hard as possible to get _something_ up for you to read. Thanks for the review!_

_**Aaliyah93: **Nope, I haven't given up, although sometimes I want to. I just can't abandon this story! Yeah, James does get in the way a lot, ha ha. It's nice to see some Jimmy/Cindy once in a while, too. I love those fluffy J/C moments:D And I'm VERY pleased to see that I've reached 100. Yay, me! Well, yay reviewers, actually. ;)_

_**fergalicious1210: **Aw, did you come read this because of my post on IDOJ? That's awesome. I'm really glad you like it so far. Here's some more, although I know it will be hard to wait until Chapter 12 now...LOL._

_**MidnightSuburbia: **Man, that really did make me laugh out loud! That was so hilarious. Thanks for lifting my spirits, girl! LOL. Hopefully the beginning of this chapter answered your questions...too funny._

_**jimlover54: **I know this wasn't soon, but it was an update! Hope you liked it!_

_**Vampire of Romance: **Thank you, I'll try to._

_**vany:** Thanks! I will!_

_**drake hernandez: **OK, just for the record, threatening me is a sure way to get me to do the _opposite_ of what you want. Let's keep the language to a minimum, shall we?_

_**general shadow wolfsbane: **Thanks! I try my best. :)_


	12. Cynthia's Secret

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Cynthia's Secret****  
**

* * *

"I think I should go talk to Cynthia," Jimmy declared suddenly. Cindy had believed James after their one-on-one communication, so maybe the same would work with Cynthia. He hoped so, anyway, and he was just about willing to try anything. 

"What good's it gonna do?" Cindy snapped angrily. It seemed as if James' bad mood had started to rub off on her.

"I thought we weren't going to give up," Jimmy commented, his lips pursed together in a slight frown.

"Well, maybe I changed my mind," Cindy huffed. "It seems like there's nothing I can do to prevent myself from turning out this way. My life is meaningless. It might be better if I ceased to exist at all."

Jimmy was stunned. Was she suggesting _suicide_? That would hardly be an answer to the problem! Things were beginning to seem a bit desperate. "Cindy, don't you _ever_ say that," he scolded her. "Your life is _not_ meaningless."

"So says Jimmy Neutron, my arch rival," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"And your future husband, whether you like it or not," he reminded her firmly. Immediately he bit his lip. Maybe that _wasn't_ the best thing to come back with...

Cindy looked up at him in surprise. "Wow," was all she could manage to say, causing his cheeks to flush.

"So, you want to talk to Cynthia alone?" James interrupted. Somehow it seemed as if all he ever did was get in the way of things. Nevertheless, Jimmy nodded, and James went on, "Well, Cindy, you can't stay here alone. Do you mind sitting in during my class?"

Cindy shook her head vigorously. "Not at all!" she exclaimed. Such a prospect was way too interesting to pass up—and might also prove to help her get her mind off of the impending problem.

"Then it's settled," James concluded. "We'd better hurry out the door—I try not to be late, but somehow I always am."

* * *

Jimmy knocked on the door of the apartment, as he had the other day. This time, however, it was Libby who appeared to welcome him in. 

She shook her head. "I'll warn ya now: she's a lot worse than last time." Jimmy gulped. Things couldn't get _that_ much worse...could they?

He was led into the living room, and as soon as Cynthia laid eyes on him, she sighed in exasperation. "Not you again. Haven't you ruined my life enough already?"

Jimmy cringed. He tried to tell himself that it was worth it, then explained, "I just want to talk to you. Cindy was in the way last time."

"Oh, so now I'm in the way. Thanks a lot," Cynthia snapped. "I'm just _so_ in the mood for insults right now. Libby, did you call the clinic for me yet?"

Jimmy felt a little frustrated at how ornery she was behaving. He was expecting her to treat him kindly, like she had before, but maybe he was setting his expectations too high. After all, even James' behavior had changed after last evening's incident.

"Girl, I already told ya what I think about the whole abortion thing," Libby sighed, answering Cindy's question.

_Abortion. _Jimmy's face went pale at the very mention of the word. Surely he hadn't heard right. She wasn't honestly considering killing their children—she couldn't be. The divorce was bad enough, but he couldn't allow this to happen. "You're—you're not saying—"

"Oh, I am," Cynthia cut in. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be a single mother—especially not of twins. Do you know how demanding that is? Besides, what if one—or both—of them look like him...like you? What would I do then? I'm just not putting myself through that."

"You can't do this!" Jimmy burst out. "It's—it's murder!"

"Oh, and since when did you become pro-life?" Cynthia scoffed.

"Since they were his kids," Libby put in matter-of-factly.

"Look, if you really won't come around, then I'm _sure_ that James will take them off of your hands!" Jimmy exclaimed. "Didn't you see how excited he was when he realized you were pregnant?"

"That's just what I said," Libby commented. "But—"

"But I don't want to go through that whole battle in court," Cynthia responded. "Besides—you're not required to tell your husband about the abortion, and you don't need their approval, either. So I have nothing stopping me. Why, he'll never even know until it's actually over."

"And ya say this as you're tellin' him..." Libby shook her head, smiling ruefully.

Cynthia's eyes widened. "Oh, great..." she muttered to herself. "Why, _why_ did I even bring it up in front of him?"

"Cynthia, I need you to listen to me," Jimmy pleaded. "I was up all night with Cindy. She was crying her eyes out because_ you_ won't believe the truth. And today she said her life was meaningless. It's not just James you're affecting. Can't you see what you're doing to yourself?"

"What do you care?" she rebutted, her tone more anxious than sarcastic this time.

"Cynthia, I care...a lot," Jimmy choked out. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to tell her, but he just couldn't bring himself to say what he really desired. "I know you don't realize it, but I care a lot more than you think." He blinked suddenly. Wasn't that almost exactly what he had said to Cindy? It seemed that was all she wanted, younger or older: just the satisfaction that someone cared. That _he_ cared, specifically.

"No, you don't," Cynthia protested, growing a little teary eyed. "You never did. It was always about you." She shook her head sadly. "He promised me he'd never leave again, but in a way...he did. And he didn't even bother to come after me when I moved in with Libby."

"When did he leave you?" Jimmy asked, unsure as to what exactly she was talking about. Neither she nor James had mentioned him walking out on her. Now, that was something which would definitely explain her paranoia.

"It's going to happen in just a few months from the time you're at right now," she sighed unhappily, bringing to memory what had happened to destroy their relationship years ago. "You're going to go away to college, but this time, for good. And I won't be able to handle that."

"You mean, I'm going to go back to Pomona?" he questioned curiously. It hadn't been that long since he had given up the opportunity. He never realized he'd be reconsidering it within a matter of months.

"Yes," Cynthia confirmed. "And I won't speak to you because of it. We won't keep in touch, and it will be six years before you see me again."

"But...why?" Jimmy wanted to know, his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. Surely he'd come home for breaks—his parents wouldn't allow it otherwise. He could keep in touch with Cindy. Why, there were phone calls, letters, e-mails. It didn't take that much effort.

Cynthia stared straight into his eyes, and a chill went down Jimmy's spine. "Jimmy, she loves you," she whispered softly. "She really does. Why do you think she tried so hard to bring me back?"

"But why would it be so hard for me to call her? Or write?" he demanded. "I'd be back for breaks. I could see her then."

"You don't understand," Cynthia sighed in exasperation. "It's going to break her heart that you choose to leave at all. She won't _want_ to keep in contact."

_Well, then that's her problem._ Jimmy bit his lip to keep from saying it. That kind of comment would really be beneficial right now. _Not._ Cynthia was really hurting, and he didn't think it was all her fault. Sure, she was jumping to conclusions, being stubborn, and considering terminating the twins, but deep down it was due to an underlying problem that had never been fixed properly. After he had chosen to leave for college, she kept suspecting that he would leave again for something else. She didn't have that sense of security that she needed. So when Betty had spread the rumor, the most obvious thing to do would be to believe it.

"I'm sorry, Cynthia," Jimmy said, his tone full of remorse. "I know you see no reason to believe me, but I honestly do—" His voice caught. He'd never been able to fully admit it to himself, let alone tell _her_ what he felt about her.

"Do what?" she prompted him. She sensed what he was trying to get at, but she wasn't going to dismiss it there. She wanted him to say it, and really, truly mean it.

"You know," Jimmy laughed nervously. "That..." His cheeks felt like they were on fire from embarrassment. It didn't help that Libby was still there, watching the whole thing.

As if Cynthia could read his mind, she turned to her best friend. "Libby, do you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes? I think Jimmy would feel a lot more at ease that way." Libby nodded, rose, and stepped into the next room. Cynthia turned and leaned toward Jimmy, putting her entire focus on him. He drew in a breath, a little surprised at how close she came. "Now," she whispered. "I want you to tell me exactly how you feel about me...or if it helps any, exactly how you feel about Cindy."

Jimmy swallowed hard. If he could bring himself to tell her, it might solve everything. But what she was asking for seemed way too big a task for him to accomplish. "Cynthia, I...I can't..." he choked out.

Her face immediately fell. "I knew it," she muttered. "It's because you don't really care as much as you say."

"That's not true," Jimmy protested. "I do care! I—I'll show you."

"Wh—" Before she could complete her sentence, he leaned in even closer and kissed her. Just like that. It wasn't long, or drawn out. It was just a simple peck on the lips—and yet that one small action sent Cynthia's mind whirling.

"I—uh—I—" Jimmy stuttered, feeling as if he could sink into the floor and disappear. What had he just done?

"Jimmy, do you realize that you just kissed a 20-year-old?" Cynthia asked, trying to act as calmly as possible. "I know I may be the same girl you have a crush on, but right now I'm nine years older than you."

"_What_ happened?" Libby burst out, coming back into the room.

"He kissed me!" Cynthia exclaimed, still not able to fully grasp that fact.

Libby's expression turned into one of disgust. "Um, _ew_! _Big_ age difference!"

"I thought you were in the other room," Jimmy commented.

"I was...close enough to try an' hear what was goin' on," she replied with a laugh.

Jimmy felt utterly humiliated. He had only been trying to get Cynthia to realize how much James really did love her...how much he loved her. Plus, she'd put her face so close to his that he'd just gotten that sudden urge to...well, to kiss her. Could they honestly blame him for that?

* * *

**_A/N:_**_ Surprise, surprise. Another chapter. And this time it's not as short. I spent my entire lunch break today working on it, ha ha. I just got this sudden urge to write...and I had finished all my homework for today, so it's all good. Spring Break is in 5 days! I'm going to spend a couple days with my dad, so I'll try to get another chapter out then, too. The key word there is try, LOL._

_If you haven't guessed already, I am pro-life. This is mostly due to the fact that I actually survived an abortion_—_no joke. My mom had internal bleeding, so the doctors performed an abortion on her without telling her, in order to save her life. When they found out I survived, they told her that I would probably be retarded or deformed...and I'm neither. Quite the contrary, actually. Even if I wasn't pro-life, though_—_everyone wants the twins to live._

_**Lady Lola Laflaunda: **Roger that. I honestly don't hate her character on her show as much as it seems...but in my story, she's the devil. XD_

_**Stay-Away: **Thanks! I thought this was a pretty fast update. What about you?_

_**acosta perez jose ramiro: ** Thank you. I definitely thought it was time to throw Sheen in. Carl might appear soon as well, but I haven't really worked all the details of his future out yet...ha ha._

_**LadyFM: **Nope, I'm not abandoning it yet. My dad and I are going to talk about me moving in with him over Spring Break. He doesn't want to ruin my relationship with my mom, but if I have to move, he's totally going to make sure it happens._

_**FredandGeorgetwinsoftheC.O.C.A.: **Wow, I've never been thanked for updating. Thank _you_ for reviewing:) I'm happy you're still reading, and I think you will like the ending (but remember I'm not promising anything!). Carl might be making an appearance soon, and I'll try to go into more detail with him and Sheen._

_**Vampire of Romance: **It's not bad to have a wedding in October, as long as you're out of school... ;) Glad you liked the chapter._

_**mrmuscle: **Hope this update was soon enough! Thanks for the review!_

_**I'll-hold-you-close: **Thank you! I will definitely try!_

_**xtigerlily23x: **Thank you! I thought this was a soon update (at least compared to the last gap between chapters)._

_**jimlover54: **Thanks! Here's the update!_

_**starrlightstarbrite: **It's OK, I understand. I'm glad you liked them. Thanks for the prayers. They mean a lot. :)_

_**Aaliyah93: **Thanks for understanding. And here's that surprise you were hoping for:) Wow, I write like a mature adult, huh? I'm not even 15 yet! I have always been extremely mature for my age, though. I'm glad it shows in my writing._

_**Poisoned Moonshine474: **Thank you! I'm a HUGE J/C fan, and I try my best!_

_**THeFaCeiNTHeMaSK: **Thanks! Glad you like it! Here's the "more" you wanted. :)_

_**Sarah: **Thanks! I will!_

_**Hermione Granger63: **They _are_ cute. It just fills my heart with joy, LOL. Thanks for your permission on me having a life. ;)_

_**KittyKiChi: **Yay! I lifted someone's spirits! Now mine are lifted:) This update was ASAP!_

_**Andre.ar: **I know, it would be a very sad time for them. We already saw a bit of James' reaction in the last chapter, but goodness knows it will be worse during the actual thing. I don't want them to get divorced either, but they do have free will...or so they think... ;)  
_

_**The Fire Lord's Daughter: **Here's that chapter! LOL. I hope you liked it!_

_**general shadow wolfsbane: **Thanks for understanding. I checked out your fic and reviewed. Keep writing. :)  
_

* * *


	13. One Last Chance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron. What do you think I am, rich?

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 13: One Last Chance**

* * *

Girls. It seemed Jimmy would never understand them. After all, his 20-year-old self didn't even seem to have them completely figured out yet. With his intelligence quotient, he hadn't expected it to take so long. But he had definitely been dead wrong. 

He sighed as he strolled down the street towards the Neutron estate. He'd seemed so close! And yet after all that, Cynthia had still asked him to leave. How much more would it take to convince her of the truth?

He understood where she was coming from, or at least he was trying to. Maybe if he went back in time and prevented himself from going to college again, then everything would be all right. She wouldn't be so paranoid and she'd believe James right off the bat if Betty still had the nerve to try anything.

Of course, if he did that, then it would take him longer to be where he was at now. Who was honestly able to say that they had earned their doctorate degree by age 18? It was an extremely admirable accomplishment. Surely Cynthia agreed with that.

Besides, if he had waited and gone to college at 18 like everyone else, or even 17 like Cindy, he wouldn't have been able to marry her so soon, either. He wouldn't have a job, or a house, or have been able to support a family. So maybe the solution wasn't as close at hand as it had seemed...

Finally he arrived at the mansion and knocked on the door. He was still pondering the problem when immediately it opened and he was face-to-face with Cindy.

Suddenly a big grin spread across his face. Cindy tilted her head and smiled back at him. She didn't really know what to expect, but his next action completely blew her away.

"Betty!"

"_Betty_?" Cindy repeated, disgust evident in her voice and face. Jimmy's face turned bright red as he realized his mistake. "You've _got_ to be kidding me! I thought you were over her, you little—"

"No!" he blurted out, interrupting her tirade.

"No?" Cindy scoffed. "No, you're not over her? Why, I oughtta—"

"Cindy!" He grabbed her by the shoulders in an effort to constrain her long enough to explain.

"What?" she snapped back, raising an eyebrow in impatience.

All in one breath he told her, "It didn't work out with Cynthia, so I just realized I should go talk to Betty now and..." His voice trailed off. "Are you going to keep me outside forever, or can we go in now?"

"You always have to get off subject!" she argued. Then she shrugged her shoulders, causing his hands to fall off of them. "Yeah, I guess," she answered nonchalantly.

She stepped aside and he trailed behind her, closing the door after him, as he hesitated on what to tell her.

It did no good, for Cindy noticed the resistance and let out a sigh. "I can't believe this. Let's face it, Jimmy. You and I were never meant to be."

"Why don't you let him sit down and explain what happened?" James, now within hearing distance, suggested from the living room sofa.

Cindy complied, and when they were all comfortably seated, Jimmy began.

"When I got there, Cynthia was contemplating the possibility of getting an abortion," he told them.

The very mention of the word almost caused James to faint. "No," he muttered, his face pale and eyes widened in shock. "No! Why would she ever do something like that?"

The question was more to himself than anyone else, but Jimmy tried to answer anyway. "She doesn't want to raise the twins as a single mom. Too much stress or whatever."

"But she doesn't _have_ to raise them as a single mom! We can raise them together, the way it's supposed to be!" he exclaimed, infuriated. "Or if she insists on having the divorce, then I can take them if she doesn't want them!"

He exhaled deeply, and his voice grew quieter. "I've dreamed for so long of what our children would be like...imagine, they might even be smarter than the two of us put together..." He chuckled softly. "Can you believe that?"

A smile grew on Jimmy's face. "You know, I never thought of it that way before," he put in, thinking of what he could achieve with that much intellect compiled.

"And we know they're both girls...what if one of them looks exactly like Cindy?" James went on, staring at her intently.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Cindy gushed, staring right back at him.

"Hey!" Jimmy cut in, holding up both of his hands to block their gazes. "I was just about to say that!" He turned to Cindy with a smile, expecting the same response she'd given James.

She pushed his hand away, rolling her eyes in amusement. "Sure you were."

"Anyways, please tell me you did _something_ to change her mind," James interrupted. Jimmy sighed, tired of his older self's constant interference.

"Well..." Jimmy paused. He'd rather not go into the whole kissing part with the two of them (who _knew_ what Cindy would do to him if she found out...and he couldn't really trust James, either), but how else could he explain what had happened?

"Well?" Cindy prompted, shooting him a suspicious glance. Was he trying to hide something from them? More importantly, was he trying to hide something from _her_?

"Well, I _thought_ I'd changed her mind," Jimmy went on.

"Really?" Cindy interrupted. "How? What'd you do?" She blinked innocently, sensing that was what he _didn't_ want to say.

Jimmy's face turned bright red, and he gulped. "That's, um...that's not important," he declared, waving a hand in an attempt to dismiss the subject.

The interrogative gazes from both Cindy and James did not cease.

Jimmy laughed nervously while tugging on the collar of his shirt. "Is it just me, or do we need a serious temperature adjustment? I mean, please. Could someone open a window or turn on the air condition or _something?_" He chuckled again, glancing back and forth between the two sitting on either side of him.

James shook his head. How awkward. "I guess if you're _that_ reluctant to share, then we'll let it drop."

"What?" Cindy protested. "It should be the other way around! I want to know what he's covering up!"

"Come on, Cindy," James consoled her with a grin. "He probably just professed his undying love for her or something."

Cindy smirked at the idea. "That sounds promising. So, Jimmy, what happened next?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes. Of course that wasn't what happened at all, but it was better than telling them the truth, that he'd kissed Cindy...20-year-old Cindy, in fact. "So, like I said, I _thought_ she'd changed her mind after that."

"And?" Cindy encouraged him.

"And she really seemed like she had, but then she told me to leave..." Jimmy sighed. "I don't understand it. I seemed so close..."

"Yet so far away?" James finished. Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it. I know exactly how you feel."

"But we _have_ to stop her from aborting the twins!" Cindy burst out. "Come on, Jimmy, don't you have another plan?"

"That's what I was getting to," Jimmy agreed. "Libby definitely seemed to be on our side with the twin situation, so I think that'll buy us some time. I'll go talk to Betty, and bring a tape recorder with me..." Jimmy's voice trailed off as he became lost in thought.

"You mean, you'll bring a concealed tape recorder with you and try to trap her in her words?" Cindy caught on.

"And then when she admits everything, we'll take the CD to Libby's place and play it for Cynthia," James finished. "It's perfect! Why didn't I think of it sooner? Then I would've had the evidence needed when she came to dinner the other night."

"Wait a second...CD?" Cindy questioned, a look of confusion on her face.

"Oh, yes. No one uses tapes anymore. CDs are much more efficient," James explained.

"That makes sense," Jimmy concurred. "So, do you have a CD recorder, then?"

* * *

James flew Cindy and Jimmy to Betty's apartment, but only dropped Jimmy off there. He'd decided he wanted to confront her on his own. 

It took Betty about five minutes after Jimmy knocked to answer the door. He'd kind of been expecting a Michael Jackson-type look, but she was actually still very attractive. OK, so it was obviousthat she'd gotten _some_ plastic surgery (_where_ isn't worth explaining)...and for some reason she'd dyed her beautiful dark hair bleach blonde...but she wasn't horrifically _ugly_. She just wasn't as pretty as the 20-year-old Cynthia Neutron.

"Oh, my gosh, you are _not_ 11-year-old Jimmy Neutron!" Betty shrieked upon seeing him. "How long has it been? Nine years?"

Jimmy almost laughed, then realized she wasn't kidding. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Um...I guess?"

"Come on in!" she squealed. "This is so wonderful!"

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head, then quickly replied, "Sure!" For some reason, all the excitement of having a "crush" on the older girl had diminished, and he found himself trying to put on an act that way she'd spill the beans to him on what she'd done and he'd have it on CD to play for Cynthia.

He followed her inside the small living quarters, and she motioned for him to have a seat next to her on her couch. "So, Jimmy," she said sweetly, with a flip of her blonde hair, "I'm sure you've heard all about your _horrible_ marriage to Cynthia." She made a face, then continued, "But surely _you _know that _I've _always been the one for you. Right?" she prodded, putting on a hopeful puppy-dog pout, and fluttering her eyelashes for extra effect.

Jimmy flooded with relief. She'd come straight to the topic herself, so he didn't need to waste time beating around the bush to get what he wanted out of this conversation. "Well, Betty, that's actually what I'm here about. Of course you and I know that Cindy's a horrible monster. And I admire you for getting rid of her the way you did." He bit his lip, hoping her pride would swell up and she'd start bragging about how she did it. It pained him to lie like that, but he was running out of ideas. He needed a solution to this whole mess. Quick.

"Oh, it was _too_ easy," Betty giggled.

Yes. He'd started her off on the right track. _Just a little more pushing,_ he told himself. Out loud, he said, "Oh, no, Betty. You'd have to be a _genius_ to think up such a great plan. How'd you do it?"

"Aw, Jimmy, it was no big deal," Betty continued to giggle. "I mean, Cynthia is _so _gullible. Besides, she gets really sensitive when anyone gets eyes for James. I think she's always been really paranoid that he was gonna leave her. I don't know _why_ they got married."

"So you spread the rumor that you were having an affair with him, and it chased Cindy right off?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, exactly. James is way too moral for it to be true, but Cindy fell for it like that." She snapped her fingers. "You'd think that after being married to him for two years she'd be able to trust him and tell fact from fiction. But nope."

"What about him coming home later? Did you hold him up at the university or something?" Jimmy wanted to know, trying to fill in all of the gaps in the story.

"Huh? No...why?"

"She mentioned something about that when I talked with her," he explained.

"Oh. It was probably just her imagination. Trying to pin stuff on him to make the rest make sense or whatever," Betty suggested.

"But didn't you try to convince James to drop her before you went around spreading the rumor?" Jimmy kept going.

"Of course!" Betty exclaimed. "But, like I told you before, he's way too moral. He views the whole marriage thing as a life commitment. Even though divorce is so quick and painless nowadays, he doesn't even consider it an option. I got really frustrated with him. He just couldn't see the light, you know? Then I decided to spread the rumor like I did. _She'd_ divorce _him_, and when he finally realized he should be with me, his precious conscience wouldn't be tainted."

Yes! He'd gotten it all on CD. Now if he could find a quick way to exit, he'd get this over to James and Cindy and they'd play it for Cynthia...

"Betty, it's getting kind of late. I'd better go," he told her.

"Late?" she gasped. "But...but, you've only been here for a little while. Didn't you want to ask me out or something?"

Jimmy's eyes widened. _What? _She was ten years older than him! Surely she didn't mean... "You mean James, right?" he asked uncomfortably, clearing his throat.

"Oh, no, I meant _you_. Surely one date couldn't hurt!" she giggled.

"Um, uh...I actually...have a girlfriend right now, Betty," Jimmy quickly covered up. "But maybe some other time." He stood up and she sighed, but didn't protest anymore.

That was it. He had the proof he needed. Finally, things were starting to look up.

* * *

_**A/N:** Because of the massive reviews (by the way, thanks SO much for that—it really keeps me going!), I'll only be commenting on the ones that actually have something to comment on. Basically, if you say more than just "it's good, keep writing," you'll get a comment at the bottom. Forgive me if I miss any. I want to be able to tell that you're actually reading from what you write in your reviews. And I'm always open to questions and criticism—just try not to be _too_ mean, ha ha. Threats, cussing, and the like will definitely _not_ be put up with._

_This story should be ending relatively soon, if I can find time to write. Then you can all tell me whether or not the ending lives up to the title (Avril's song out of mind). I'm hoping that Cynthia doesn't seem like too much of a bad guy anymore, taking into account what happened between Jimmy and her when they were young. Yeah, she was still kind of unreasonable then, but I can't blame her completely for responding the way that she did. Anyways, try not to be too harsh...this will all probably make more sense once the prequel is out (and, yes, that's definitely going to happen...I already have the plot worked out; just need to start typing it up after this one is finished)._

_**MysticLady3: **Thank you! I know that would be the easy way out, but it's way too predictable. Anyways, glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!_

_**Sonomi-chan: **It's fine about not reviewing the last chapter. I understand being busy, believe me. It was amazing that I was able to update so quickly last time, and hopefully there wasn't much of a wait this time, either. Maybe skipping class that one day helped a little...hee hee. I'm glad you like the story so much, and it's cool that we were on the same page with the abortion thing. Hopefully Jimmy's kiss will help, and there will be a light at the end of this tunnel._

_**Poisoned Moonshine474: **It was wrong, no question about that. But it was just so hilarious that I couldn't help throwing it in...haha. Glad you liked it, and here's another update for you._

_**WAYAMY27NARF: **Something tells Jimmy and me that you're right. That's why he tried to keep it a secret in this chapter. But, who knows? Maybe it will help and he'll have the guts to tell her about it. Hopefully then she won't get quite as angry. ;)_

_**Vampire of Romance: **We all hope she doesn't. If she does, there probably won't be any sequel (although I'll still put out a prequel, no question to that). I'm glad you liked the chapter._

_**Stay-Away: **Looks like I did good. :) I'm happy that you're happy, and thank you very much._

_**LadyFM: **Yes, that part was extremely funny, and also kind of creepy. XD I'm glad you liked it, and hope you will continue to like it._

_**Lady Lola Laflaunda: **I'm glad you found it funny; so did I. I was trying to throw some humor into what otherwise might be a very depressing story. Hopefully Jimmy's kiss actually accomplished something, though._

_**starrlightstarbrite: **Oh, that stinks. Same with my friend Tiffany. Otherwise we would've been able to go to Florida at the same time...gr... As for the pro-life thing, thanks for understanding. My religion (Christianity) totally goes against the pro-abortion view as well, but I want people to know that it's not the only reason I'm pro-life. After all, some don't respect the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Glad you liked the kiss scene. It was very weird, no doubt about that, but I thought it was kind of cute in some way, too. Jimmy just couldn't resist. XD  
_

_**acosta perez jose ramiro: **Yes, hopefully he did. That would be wonderful, wouldn't it? I'm glad that we're on the same side with this issue, and I'm glad you liked the chapter._

_**Aaliyah93: **Ah, it's always nice to hear from such an enthusiastic reviewer. :) You're welcome, and I'm glad the story helped brighten your day a little. I can't believe you think I sound like an adult...that really is a huge compliment for me. Thanks._

_**general shadow wolfsbane: **No problem. Yes, I'm 14 (turning 15 in August), so we're not too far apart in age. I'm glad I could do you a favor and read your story, after you've been so kind in reading and reviewing mine. I'm so happy to hear that you and your brothers are against abortion. I have other reasons for being against it (such as being a Christian), but the biggest one is definitely the fact that I survived one myself. After all, if I hadn't, then I wouldn't be around to write this story for you to enjoy, now would I? ;) Glad you liked the chapter._

_**Spuffyshipper: **Ha ha, I love reading Jimmy fanfics when I'm bored. I don't usually get the chance to anymore, though. Anyways, I'm glad you liked the story, and try to understand what Cynthia's going through right now...she might be making some bad choices, but it's simply because she's so hurt deep down inside. (Of course, that doesn't excuse her behavior, but it does help us understand her situation more)._

_**THeFaCeiNTHeMaSK: **That's wonderful to hear, and I agree with you wholeheartedly. What I don't get is how the supreme court doesn't seem to think that it's killing at all...just "removing unwanted tissue" or whatever. But, anyways, I figured that all of us want to see the twins grow up. It would be a tragedy if they never got the chance to._

_**JimmyandCindyforever: **Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying it. Poor Cindy, she's so stressed out right now. Hopefully everything will get straightened up soon._

_**KittyKiChi: **XD Thanks so much. I just loved that review. Glad you liked it. :)_

_**xtigerlily23x: **I'm not trying to make it politically. Honestly, no one wants the twins to die, and it's not like I said abortion should be outlawed or anything like that. I just want everyone to know where I stand on the issue in general. Glad you liked it besides that, and you're welcome for the shout out. It would be cute if the younger ones got together, and I am trying to draw them closer through this whole experience. Hopefully my plan works. Thanks for the review, Lily, and I love your name. :)_

_**FredandGeorgetwinsoftheC.O.C.A.: **I'm glad you're hooked, and I hope you liked this update as well. I know Cynthia's being drastic...what will it take to get through her head? But the kiss might've helped more than Jimmy realizes. I think Cynthia just needs some time to think it over._

_**MidnightSuburbia: **Ha ha. Yes, it is nice to know. Let's just hope that Cynthia can fully realize it. :)_

_**Latinvortex: **Awesome! I can't believe you started reading it. That makes me so happy, and I'm glad you like it so much. I'll try to get the next update out soon. :)_

_**rohe2geth4evr: **Aw, come on now, don't be quite so hard on the poor girl. I'm hoping my prequel will help clear things up a little so everyone will be able to understand her point of view a bit better. Yes, Jimmy does have the power to change it, but he has every right to go to college and I'm not completely sure that Cindy was correct in being so selfish in not wanting him to leave. It's kind of confusing to tell exactly who's side I'm on, isn't it? XD_


	14. Almost There

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron. How many times must I drill this into your thick heads?

* * *

**Chapter 14: Almost There**

* * *

Betty offered to drive Jimmy to the Neutron estate, and since he wanted to get there as fast as possible, he reluctantly agreed. She noticed disappointment wash over his face when they got to her car. 

"I'm not rich, you know," she told him sadly. "Those flying cars cost a fortune, since James _just_ patented them. But look on the bright side!" she added happily, a big grin spreading across her face. "When he marries _me_, I'll get one for free!"

"But that's not the reason you want to marry him..." Jimmy glanced at her pointedly as he got into the small transportation vehicle.

Betty giggled (a bit nervously, Jimmy thought). "Oh, of—of course not! But being rich certainly is a plus side of the union, don't ya think?"

Jimmy didn't reply. It was obvious that money was one of the _major_ reasons she wanted to marry his older self...and James' fame had to play a big part, too. _I bet I wasn't rich when Cindy married me_, he thought with a tiny smile.

He glanced over at Betty as she pulled out of the driveway. "Um, aren't you going to put on your seat belt?" he reminded her.

"Seat belt?" Betty laughed. "Who needs those dumb old things? They're so out of style."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. What was up with her?

Throughout the rest of the drive, he felt like Betty kept trying to flirt with him. It was awkward, so he tried to ignore her and think about what he'd just accomplished. Nothing could go wrong this time.

Then he realized that all the stuff she was saying was going to be on CD. It'd be embarrassing playing that for Cindy—and Cynthia—but it wasn't like he could pull the recorder out of his back pocket with Betty sitting right next to him. Yes, he'd begun to question her mental capabilities recently, but she wasn't _that_ dumb. She'd definitely realize that he'd been recording her, and who knew how violent she could get if he made her mad. Maybe he'd just stop the CD before it came to this...

As soon as they pulled into James' driveway, he jumped out (after undoing his seat belt, of course—at least _someone_ cared about car safety between the two) and ran up to the front door. He only had to knock once before Cindy flung it open.

"Jimmy!" she exclaimed, a huge smile on her face. "You're the best!"

He rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "Well, thanks, Cindy—but I didn't even tell you if I succeeded yet," he pointed out.

"Oh." She seemed a little disappointed, but waited for him to go on.

"I did," he told her simply, grinning.

"Oh!" The huge smile instantly reappeared, then suddenly vanished. It didn't take him long to figure out why.

"_You're_ here too?" a sneering voice came from behind him, aimed at Cindy.

"B-_Betty?_" she gasped, her mouth dropping open. "You're so...blonde!"

Betty rolled her eyes. "No duh. Took you long enough."

"I've only seen you for about two seconds!" Cindy scowled. "And you're way ruder, too!" She crossed her arms. "At least in our time you were nice...and knew when to back off!" she added.

"Would you just let us in?" Betty asked, tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm catching a cold out here!" She shivered, rubbing the arms of her big fluffy jacket.

Cindy looked at her as if she were crazy, then snapped, "I'll let Jimmy in, but not some _loser_ who tries to imitate me to win a guy's heart!"

"Then why are you inside?" Betty shot back.

Jimmy and Cindy glanced confusedly at each other, eyebrows furrowed.

"Um...right...," Jimmy began awkwardly. "I'll see you later, Betty," he added pointedly, hoping she'd take the hint.

She didn't. "Later? I'm staying, Jimmy. Don't let the dumb blonde intimidate you!"

"You're a blonde, too!" Cindy burst out in annoyance. "And way dumber than me, although I'm ten years younger than you!"

"I am not dumb, you little..._kid_!" Betty yelled.

Before Cindy could retaliate further, James appeared behind her in the doorway. "Is something wr—oh, Betty, I wasn't expecting _you_." His eyebrows shot up in surprise upon noticing her, and he gave Jimmy a questioning glance, who shrugged in reply.

"I was here to tell you that even your younger self is on my side, James," she said sweetly, instantly changing her facial expression to match.

Cindy looked to Jimmy, and he mouthed the word, "no." She nodded in understanding, and he relished in how trusting she was of him now. Too bad things couldn't stay that way.

"Why, Cindy," Betty added suspiciously, "you don't look too disappointed."

"Uh—" Cindy's face blanked for a second, but she quickly blurted out, "Jimmy, you're such a jerk!" and punched his arm lightly. Unfortunately, it came across as flirtatious rather than what she'd intended.

"_She's_ not the girlfriend you were referring to, is she Jimmy?" Betty asked with a pout, finally putting two and two together.

"Are you kidding me?" Cindy fumed, this time sounding more serious than before. "I wouldn't go out with that—that—"

"Jerk?" Jimmy suggested.

"Exactly!" she agreed, struggling not to laugh out loud. He really _would_ say anything to get rid of Betty, she realized with pleasure.

"Well, anyways," Betty huffed, "I'd better get going. All of this has really worn me out." She lifted her hand to her forehead in an exaggerated gesture to prove her point. "I'll see you later, James. Give me a call tonight." With a wink at him, she turned and headed back towards her car.

"She sure is something," James sighed. "And I'm glad she's gone. Why don't you come in and explain everything to us, Jimmy?"

"Yes, do!" Cindy chimed in excitedly, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "You said you succeeded, right? I was a little unsure when Betty came up behind you, but now I'm positive that you weren't lying to me."

Jimmy smiled and, with his free arm, took the CD recorder from his back pocket and switched it off. "OK, let's go sit down and you can listen to the whole thing yourselves," he suggested.

Cindy sat down on the sofa and pulled him down next to her. Surprisingly, she had him seated in between her and James, instead of choosing to sit in the middle spot herself. Although it sounded strange, he had to admit that he kind of liked having her beside him and _not _his older counterpart. In fact, he realized that he was growing more and more attracted to her...and by now she usually acted much more kindly to him than before they'd come on this trip to the future. He knew it probably wouldn't last; after every other single romantic episode they'd had together, things pretty much went back to their normal argumentative ways. But he could always hope, at least.

"So, let's start this thing up," James said, rubbing his hands together. "I just hope nothing went wrong with the recording," he added with a frown. "We couldn't afford for that to happen."

"I'm sure nothing's wrong with it," Cindy said optimistically. "Just press play."

Jimmy handed the device to James, figuring that he'd be better off working it from now on. James pressed the play button, and they all sat back and relaxed, listening to the conversation that went on between Jimmy and Betty.

All three made faces whenever Betty made a dumb comment, a few of which caused them to laugh hysterically. But as the CD got to the part when Jimmy had wanted to leave, he quickly grabbed the recorder from James and blurted out, "Let's stop it now!"

"Wha—why?" Cindy demanded, growing a bit suspicious. "You don't have anything to hide, do you?"

"O-of course not!" Jimmy quickly blurted out.

"Then prove it to me by letting me hear the rest!" It was the obvious solution to the problem, after all. Sure, she _could_ just take his word for it...but if he was embarrassed by whatever was on there, then it _had_ to be something good.

"She's got a point, you know," James agreed. "I know you're on our side, but that _did_ seem kind of fishy."

"Fine! You want me to keep playing it? I'll keep playing it!" he exclaimed, upset and exasperated. "But you won't like what you hear!"

"OK. I don't care," Cindy said calmly. "Just turn it back on!"

"Sheesh! Alright, already!"

The recording started up again, and what was said next kindled a fire in Cindy:

_"Didn't you want to ask me out or something?"_

"Doesn't she mean James?" Cindy barked.

_"You mean James, right?"_

_"Oh, no, I meant _you_. Surely one date couldn't hurt!"_

"What?" Cindy snapped, her face growing hot with anger. "He's a minor! Aren't there laws against that? I mean, hello! One word: pedophile!"

"Only, she didn't actually _do_ anything," James reminded her. "You can't exactly arrest someone for a sick mind. Plus, Jimmy's kind of..._me_...from the past... I don't know what the police will say to that one!"

"True," Cindy grumbled. "They'd probably arrest you instead for being crazy or something. And even if you didn't, I got the feeling that you kind of wanted to keep the whole time travelling thing a secret from the public."

"That's one invention I'm _not_ distributing," James nodded. "I mean, could you imagine someone like _Betty_ getting a hold of one?"

Jimmy shuddered and Cindy's eyes widened in horror. "She might try to go back and prevent the marriage altogether or something!" she gasped.

"Exactly. So there's really nothing we can do except ignore her. I don't think you two will be seeing much more of her anyway, since this CD should be all the proof Cynthia needs. Then she can come back and you can return to the past." He smiled and closed his eyes. "I can't wait."

"Then why don't we call her right now and play it for her?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah!" Jimmy chimed in enthusiastically.

James took a deep breath, then nodded. "I guess it's now or never."

Cindy smiled at Jimmy and squeezed his hand as James called Libby's number on his cell. "Libby? Hi, it's James... Yes, I do... I know, but will you tell her I have proof? Jimmy got Betty to confess everything and we have it here recorded on CD..."

* * *

_A/N: Suspense! I like it! I had to end it somewhere, because this is over 4 pages long in Microsoft Word. It'll be even longer with this author's note and my replies to your reviews! Let me tell you all again how much I appreciate those reviews!_

_You have my friend Shine to thank for the quick update. She lets me write when I'm at her house (which is a lot). She even helped me figure out where to end this chapter. I don't think I have too many left until the end of this story, and then_—_on to the prequel, Far Away!_

_I know Betty is out of character, but as you can see, so does Cindy. She's changed a lot since she was 12, that's for sure. Maybe it was bad influences, who knows. Plus, greed can do a lot to a person..._

_**iloveslinky:** Yes, I did help LoganxLola4ever with her story. She's the friend I gave a shout out to in my author's note. I even helped edit the first chapter of Back to the Future for grammar, and I will continue editing if she allows. :) You're right, Betty IS way desperate. She's got some serious issues goin' on. XD Also, congrats on being the first to review the last chapter!_

_**acosta perez jose ramiro: **Well, I think you mean "spay," not "neuter," but I get your point! XD Yes, I'm very proud of Jimmy!_

_**linklovesme: **Well, as you can see, he didn't forget to start it. Still, I hope there won't be any problems in the next chapter...dun dun dun... LOL to "soonday"! Quoting from Love Potion #976/J is just brilliant!_

_**Poisoned Elfie: **Here's the update! Yeah, Betty thought dying her hair blonde like Cindy's would help attract James. But I don't think it worked! And, yeah, Cindy would've killed Jimmy if she knew about the kiss...hopefully it doesn't slip out on accident later...that would be bad._

_**RetroChica: **Well, here's that next chapter. Yeah, it is pretty wrong. Betty is one big sicko, that's all I have to say. Too bad she went downhill after age 12!_

_**Vampire of Romance: **Yeah, she pretty much is. Even Jimmy is suspecting mental problems now!_

_**fergalicious1210: **No, she doesn't look good, but I don't think she's MOCKING Cindy. I think it's actually more of a compliment to Cindy, because it's suggesting that Jimmy likes her hair better than Betty's. I don't know whose side I'm on, really; I just want the two to get back together again!_

_**Legend of Sheen the freak: **Yes, she is. And I'm glad you see Cynthia's side of the story as well. I know at first everyone hated her. But her talk with Jimmy helped, and so did Betty's talk with Jimmy. And the prequel will help even more._

_**PixieVortex:** I'm glad you found that chapter exciting! Hopefully this one leaves you with another cliffhanger:D_

_**Lady Lola: **Y'know, I never liked Betty either! What a shock! LOL!_

_**Sonomi-chan: **Don't worry, I like rambling! I do it all the time! I'm glad you're seeing Cynthia's side of the story as well. Far Away (the prequel) will be mostly from her perspective, so hopefully everyone will feel sorry for her instead of hating her._

_**Fiends23: **Nice try impersonating my friend. It didn't work._

_**KittyKiChi: **You've got that right! Only, she's actually 21...you know, she's a year older than the rest of the gang (except for Sheen, he's two years older), and a grade ahead of them, too. So I'd say that's even worse! _

_**MidnightSuburbia: **Wow, if I got you to laugh at the Betty bashing, then I guess I really must be a good writer! XD I hope you know from this chapter that I don't really think she's like that in the show, though. I even had Cindy admit she was nice when she was younger._

_**kprrs3000: **I'd probably laugh, too! What a loser! XD_

_**Andre.ar: **Is it that easy? Good question. I can't tell you yet; you'll have to read the next chapter! There's about 3 or 4 chapters left, I think. I can't give you an exact number, though. It could change. But it's definitely not many. As for Strange Memories, I do realize I need to update that story as well. It's going to be longer than this one, and I'm feeling kind of intimidated...especially with Far Away in the works. Plus, I think this one is more popular than Strange Memories. But I WILL try to finish it, I promise! I just don't know when!_

_**J.F.Mitchell: **Aw, come on, now! Give Cynthia some compassion! She's not totally to blame here!_

_**starrlightstarbrite: **Yes, we're back! I'm glad you're happy. I love making readers happy! Unfortunately, not EVERYONE hates Betty...but I think everyone does hate the Betty in MY story! I'm glad I'm not letting it die, too:D_

_**xtigerlily23x: **Wow, you catch on fast. I wrote the beginning part of this chapter even before I read your review for the last one. So, yeah, there's the answer to your question! And I'm so glad that you're on Cynthia's side, too! So am I! You're definitely right, of course. She could, but she doesn't have to...we just need her to see that! And yes, the young Jimmy and Cindy are adorable. It's too bad that James keeps interrupting their "moments", though. XD_


	15. Libby's Turn

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Libby's Turn**

* * *

"Look, she's had a long day. She's just not in the mood right now," Libby told James apologetically over the phone. 

"You mean she won't listen even if I have proof?" James asked in disgust. "Well, you tell her that I'm fed up with—"

"Dude, chill _out_," Libby interrupted. She shook her head, although he couldn't see. "Her mind is spinnin'. Did Jimmy ever tell you his method o' convincin' her? Well, she's got that t' think about now, too."

James' eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "What? I thought he just talked to her. But she _still_ wouldn't listen."

"Oh, if _that's_ all he told you, then I think that kid's got some explainin' t' do," Libby laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"I think _he'd_ better tell you," she decided. "But he'll most likely feel uncomfortable sharin' around Cindy, so you might wanna get him alone."

"All right, I'll do that," James agreed, curiosity building. "But what does that have to do with Cynthia listening to that idiot Betty's confession?"

"You know I'm on yo' side," Libby sighed. "But I gotta stick by my girl. She's makin' some tough decisions, an' I'm helpin' her make the right ones. Just let me handle it for now. She'll listen to the CD in time...or, hopefully, she'll come around before then."

James took a deep breath. It was hard to sit back and let someone else take over the situation, especially with the threat of abortion on Cynthia's lips. But he felt that he could trust Libby. She had always been called "Cindy's voice of reason," and was against the twins' abortion just as much as he was. The hard part was waiting it out. However, he'd stuck it out for two months already; what was a little longer? He loved his wife enough to wait for her. He wouldn't let their marriage go down the tubes.

"OK, Libby," James gave in. "I'll see you at your wedding, then?"

"Yeah. I hope t' have this straightened out by then. I mean, my lease on this apartment's up the month after, givin' me just enough extra time to move all my stuff into Sheen's place. But I'm out o' here the day we get married, ya know? So Cynthia'll be on her own then and'll have t' be out not long after. Oh, and James?"

"Yes?"

"Tell Jimmy n' Cindy they can come to the weddin' if they want But I _don't_ want Cindy blabbin' 'bout it to my younger self, got it?"

"I'll pass the message on," James assured her.

As soon as he hung up, Cindy sighed and her eyes filled with tears. "Let me guess. She won't listen to the CD. But you could even play it over the phone!" she cried out. "She wouldn't have to see you that way! Or I could play it for her! Or something!"

Jimmy gazed at her sympathetically and was about to say something to her in comfort when James cut him off.

"Oh, Cindy," he sighed, his expression matching Jimmy's. He rose from his seat and went over to kneel beside her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "It's not that. Libby wants to take this into her own hands for a while. She thinks she can gt through to Cynthia without the CD, and do it before the wedding. I thought I'd let her try."

While James was speaking, Jimmy's temper was rising. Why was it that he always interfered like that? Every time Jimmy felt like he was getting closer to Cindy! It drove him crazy. And it was time to put an end to it.

"James, we need to talk," Jimmy ordered through gritted teeth. "_Now._"

Cindy looked at him in surprise. "Why, Jimmy—"

"Actually, I _did_ want to talk to you privately, Jimmy," James interrupted, eyebrows raised in surprise equal to Cindy's. "But could you hold on for one second? I need to finish explaining."

Jimmy reluctantly nodded and waited for James to continue, still a little angry. He was sure going to have it out with James once they did talk alone.

"Libby wanted me to tell you that you're both invited to her wedding this Friday," James went on. "The only catch is that you can't tell the younger Libby anything about it when you get back to your time, that's all. Would you two like to stay?"

Cindy's eyes grew big and she nodded eagerly. "Of course! I love weddings! And the Perfect Fit has formal clothing, too. Right, James?" she added hopefully. She'd give _anything_ to see her "hunk muffin" in a tuxedo again...and James couldn't look too bad in one, either.

James smiled. "Yes. In fact, why don't you go look at some dresses while I talk to Jimmy?" he suggested.

Cindy immediately hopped up off of the couch. "That's a great idea!"

"We can eat dinner afterwards," he added, laughing on the inside. Why did clothes and shopping seem to have a magical effect on women? A mall could basically solve any problem for them, it appeared.

"Sounds good to me!" Cindy called over her shoulder as she dashed off towards the hallway.

"So, Jimmy, do you want to go first?" James rubbed his hands together and turned his attention on his younger self.

Jimmy shot him a glare. "Fine with me. Look, James, I'm tired of you...interrupting...," he began, a little unsure of how to explain.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that...well...every time Cindy and I are in the middle of a...a _moment_, you interrupt it. And I can't stand it anymore!" he complained.

A smile formed on James' lips. "_Oh._ You mean a _romantic_ moment, right?" he snickered.

"Well..._you_ might call it that! But even a minute ago, when I was going to comfort Cindy myself, you just _had_ to butt in!" he exclaimed, infuriated at the memory alone.

James frowned. "But you didn't know what Libby told me. I was just explaining it to her so she wouldn't feel so bad."

"Yeah, but you could've let me at least say something nice to her," Jimmy huffed. "She loves you but she barely opens up to me. It's just recently been starting to get a little better. But when it does—boom! You're there and don't let me get anything in edgewise!"

"Ah. So you want to improve your relationship with Cindy? Tired of all the arguing?" James summed it up.

"Well...yeah... I mean, if I _have_ to marry her..."

"If you have to?" James laughed. Jimmy blushed and was about to protest, but his older self cut him off. "No, no, I get it. You don't have to explain. So I'll try to back off a little, OK? If she gives us the opportunity to say something kind to her, I'll let you take over. Is that good?"

Jimmy nodded in submission. "Yeah, that's all I wanted. So...," he changed subjects, "what did _you_ want to say?"

James pursed his lips together, deciding on how to begin. "Jimmy, Libby mentioned to me that you did...something—embarrassing, I'll guess, because she said you wouldn't want to share it with Cindy—"

Jimmy turned pale as a ghost. "Oh, no. You mean at her apartment? She didn't tell you, did she?"

"No, she didn't say exactly what...but I was wondering if you could?" James gave him a tentative smile. "It couldn't have been _that_ bad...right? I mean, I can't imagine what she's talking about."

Jimmy bit his lip in hesitation. A big part of him was telling him not to...but this _was_ himself he was talking to, no matter how weird that sounded... Surely James could find out if he _really_ wanted to know, right?

"Will you tell Cindy?"

James laughed. "If I purposefully had her leave the room to talk to you, do you think I'd go and tell her?" he asked.

"No, I guess not," Jimmy sighed. "You see, when I was at Cynthia's, I was trying really hard to change her mind..."

"Right. What's so bad about that?"

"Well, um..." Jimmy tugged at the collar of his shirt uncomfortably. "She wanted me to convince her that you loved her..."

James rolled his eyes in impatience. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. So what's the big deal?"

"She told me to pretend she was the 11-year-old Cindy, and to tell her exactly how I felt about her," Jimmy went on.

"So you proclaimed her undying love for her and yadda, yadda, yadda," James interrupted. "I still don't get it."

"If you would let me finish, you'd understand!" Jimmy burst out, annoyed. "I couldn't tell her I liked her! I couldn't make the words come out! So I—_accidentally_, mind you—kissed her."

Jimmy didn't realize anyone's eyes could grow as wide as James' did. He almost expected the 20-year-old to faint from shock. Instead, a moment of silence went by, and then:

"You what?"

Jimmy wasn't sure how James had intended it to come out, but what he heard was barely a whisper. He gulped. "I...kissed her. Cynthia."

James took a deep breath, still not believing what he was hearing. "You kissed Cynthia? On the _lips_?"

Jimmy gulped. "Um, yeah. It was an accident."

"You kissed a 20-year-old? That's—that's—"

"It was an accident! She told me to imagine her as the 11-year-old! And then she leaned _so_ close to my face... I couldn't help it!" Jimmy kept trying to explain.

"Look, I don't blame you," James sighed. "It's just...that's really..._shocking_ is the only word I can think of. Now what Libby said makes sense. I guess Cynthia has a lot to think about now. A lot of decisions to make. She's gotta be really stressed out. I just hope Libby can come through for us."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

_**A/N:** Sorry it's been so long since I've posted a new chapter. Things have been pretty busy and I haven't had time to write. I've decided I'm going to reply to each of your reviews individually by hitting "reply" and I'm no longer going to post them at the bottom of the chapter. That way, you get your chapter faster. See? It's better for everyone this way. :)_

_If you haven't already, I'd like all of you to check out the newest story I've posted, _Falling for Jimmy. _Thanks to everyone who has. I really appreciate it. I've been sitting on that story for a while and finally decided to post it._

_As for this story, the end is near. I'm visualizing one or two more chapters, and then I'll get to work on the prequel, which is no longer being called _Far Away._ Instead, I've settled on the name _Sweet Revenge._ I'm extremely excited about it, and I hope you'll like it as much as I do._

_And one more thing before I sign out: TOMORROW IS MY FIFTEENTH BIRTHDAY!! YES:D_


	16. Closure

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Closure  
**

* * *

Cindy Vortex strolled into the living room, adorned in the pale green floor-length gown which she had picked out for Libby and Sheen's wedding that day, with a matching sash hanging daintily from her arms. "So"**—**she twirled gracefully**—**"what do you think?" 

Jimmy looked dumbfounded and a bit speechless, but when James began to say, "Cindy, you look**—**," Jimmy jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. James rolled his eyes with a smile, but let the younger boy continue with what he wanted to say.

"Beautiful," Jimmy finished for himself, smiling broadly.

Cindy's cheeks turned pink. "Well, you don't look so bad yourself," she joked, secretly brimming with joy about the tuxedo he was wearing. "It's pretty surprising, since you have no sense of style whatsoever," she added to cover up her inner feelings.

Jimmy frowned. "Is that how you repay a nice complement?" he grumbled.

"Oh, lighten up, Jimmy," Cindy laughed, punching his arm softly. "I'm just kidding around."

"Yeah, well..." He turned to James, and Cindy rolled her eyes in exasperation when he changed the subject. "What'd Cynthia do at the rehearsal?"

James shrugged. "She ignored me, like usual," he replied. "I'm not so sure about Libby's plan. I think I'll bring the recording of Betty's confession with me, just in case I get a chance to play it for her afterwards."

Cindy nodded in approval. "Good idea. That's what I'd do."

"Now, you two are going home whether or not this works out. Right?" James prodded.

"Right," Cindy sighed. "But if it doesn't...well, let's just say I don't know if things will ever be the same again. How will I keep from being depressed about my future all the time?"

"We'll climb that mountain when we come to it," James said calmly. "Right now we need to focus on the positive, for Sheen and Libby's sake."

"You're right," Cindy agreed.

Jimmy bit back a smart remark. His desire was to be at peace with her, and yet he seemed to still act impulsively in the pattern they were accustomed to. Couldn't their friendship last for more than an hour?

* * *

The wedding was over, and while most people were enjoying themselves at the reception, there was still no sign of any change in Cynthia's demeanor. It had been a little interesting to see Carl and Sheen; the former apparently visiting from Peru, where he was going to college and preparing himself for a life of llama breeding. But all in all, it was looking to be a lost cause between James and Cynthia, to say the least, and Jimmy and Cindy were preparing themselves to go home with their mission unfulfilled. They watched from the sidelines as Cynthia headed towards the buffet table

Suddenly, out of nowhere, who should approach the tall blonde other than Betty Quinlan herself! The eyes of the two eleven-year-olds widened in shock as they saw Betty strut up and directly confront Cynthia with a smart remark.

"That's a lot of food you got there," Betty pointed out rudely.

"Why should you care, Quinlan? And who invited you here anyways? I don't remember you being on Libby's guest list," Cynthia snarled.

"I wasn't. But since everyone knows I deserve to be a part of the celebration, I came."

"Oh, then forgive me for being ignorant," Cynthia snapped sarcastically. "I was unaware that you stealing my husband automatically grants you the right to _my_ best friend's wedding. Or did you steal her too?"

"Back. To. The. Point." Betty was speaking through clenched teeth, a definite sign that Cynthia was getting to her.

"What _point_? I wasn't aware that you were making a _point_!"

"Duh! My point was that you wouldn't be piling that much food on your plate unless _you were pregnant_!"

Suddenly Cynthia felt the world spinning out of control all around her. The word "pregnant" echoed in the room, or so it seemed, and it felt like she'd swallowed a dead weight. She was sure everyone heard it; that everyone was staring at her, although it was too blurry and out of focus for her to tell. The color drained from her face and she felt like her knees would buckle at any second.

But the monster didn't stop. She kept going, relishing the fact that her words were cutting through Cynthia like a knife. Betty would finish this off once and for all.

"Of course, everyone knows it couldn't be _James'_ child. Maybe you didn't love him as much as you made it seem. Maybe you had your eye on another guy all along, and when I made my announcement you were more than happy to go running into his arms!"

That did it. Cynthia saw the tiled ground before her, felt the sickening falling feeling too soon to do anything about it.

But she didn't hit the floor. Suddenly two strong arms caught her and held her close, and a voice barked out: "_That's it!_ I can't take it any longer! I'm tired of you, and your lies, and what you're doing to her! I have half a mind to punch you square in the jaw, so I suggest you hurry off in case the urge becomes incontrollable!"

It was...James. He was screaming at Betty. Cynthia had never heard him do that before...ever.

Immediately she knew. She knew for certain. He didn't need to give any proof; she could finally swallow her pride and admit she was wrong.

"James..."

He looked away from the infuriating woman running out the door and down into the eyes of the only one he'd ever truly loved. His gaze softened and he pulled her closer. "It's OK, Cynthia...everything is going to be OK."

She burst into sobs, and he stroked her hair and let her cry there, in his arms. "I'm...sorry...," she gasped.

He pulled back and held her at arm's length so he could look her in the eye. "You mean...?"

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I don't know how I let stupid Quinlan fool me like that! I just...well, I almost believed you...but I just couldn't admit I was wrong after the way I'd acted towards you, and...oh, James, I'm so sorry!"

"Cynthia..." he whispered. "I could never blame you. It's not your fault." He pulled her closer and their lips met.

"I wonder what that would be like," Cindy mumbled, unaware that she had said it out loud.

"Oh, it's great. You have no idea," Jimmy replied happily.

Cindy's mood immediately changed. She turned to look him in the eye and snapped, "_What?_"

_Idiot!_ Jimmy thought, mentally smacking himself. "Uh...I mean...I'm assuming?"

Cindy was not convinced. "You'd better run," she snarled.

And that's exactly what he did.

* * *

"Wow," Cindy was saying. "I'm glad everything finally worked out." 

She and Jimmy were back in his lab. It had all gone right. Well, except for the part when Cindy slapped him. His cheek was still smarting.

"You know," she went on, "it'll be kind of...weird knowing that we'll be married in the future."

"Don't worry, I won't expect a change in behavior from you, Vortex," Jimmy assured her.

She was a little surprised. Back to the old ways again, was it? But when she looked at him there was a twinkle in his eye.

Cindy smiled. "Well, I don't expect a change from you either, Nerdtron."

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door.

Jimmy's eyes widened. "Uh oh. I bet it's Sheen and Carl."

"Just answer it."

Jimmy opened the door, and sure enough, his two best friends were waiting there.

"Hey, Jimmy!" Sheen burst out excitedly. Then he caught notice of Cindy. "Whoa! What's she doing here?"

"Are you two on a date?" Carl asked with a grin.

"What? No!" Jimmy exclaimed in frustration. "I was just proving to Cindy that in the future _I'll_ be way more famous than her."

"Your stupid invention didn't prove anything, loser," she snapped. "I was equally as famous and you'd better admit it."

"Right." Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Well, look, would you just leave?"

"Like I wanted to be here anyways." With a flip of her hair, she sauntered off towards the exit. But when Jimmy's friends weren't watching, she turned to give him one last look. Their eyes met and both smiled. Then she was gone.

* * *

_**A/N: **OMGsh, I know it's been such a long time since I've updated! But finally this fic was able to come to an end. Thanks to all my readers out there; you guys have been amazing and I'm really sorry for the wait. I don't even know if this chapter is that great, but at least the story is finished. I hope I can still do the prequel as promised, but I'm not even allowed to talk about Jimmy Neutron anymore thanks to my mom, and my obsession has switched to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think! Again, I'm sorry. Oh, and if you could, would you take a look at my first Suite Life fic? It's entitled _Love, Lies & Alibis._ Thanks you guys! Hope you liked the story!_


End file.
